World no. 64 Andy Murray will not use his wild card at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam. Andy withdrew following a roller coaster ride at the Australian Open, needing more time to recover his body after spending 14 hours on the court in three encounters! Andy has played in Rotterdam seven times, winning the title in 2009 over Rafael Nadal and losing in the second round 12 months ago. Murray kicked off the current season with an early loss in Adelaide to Sebastian Korda before embracing a notable Australian Open campaign. The Briton faced Matteo Berrettini in the first round at Rod Laver Arena and scored a memorable 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6 victory in four hours and 49 minutes. The Italian played a terrible backhand on a match point at 5-4 in the decider and fell 10-6 in the match tie break to hand the victory to the veteran. Murray secured his 50th Australian Open triumph and prevailed in his 40th five-setter in a career! Matteo fired 31 aces, but his strokes let him down in the pivotal moments.
Andy Murray will miss the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam in February.
Andy played better behind the second serve, and both players had more winners than unforced errors in a high-quality encounter. There were only ten break chances, five on each side. Berrettini broke Andy once in the third set and experienced three breaks in the opening two sets. They stayed neck and neck in the fourth and fifth, and Murray prevailed after a lucky net cord return winner at 9-6 in the match tie break. Like it was not enough, Andy played the most extended match of his career in the second round. Murray came from two sets to love down at Margaret Court Arena and ousted Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 in five hours and 45 minutes! Andy and Thanasi played the second-longest Australian Open match and finished a thrilling battle at 4:05 am. Four out of five sets lasted over an hour, with two rivals throwing everything at each other in a night to remember.
The veteran claimed four points more than the crowd’s favorite, overcoming a 5-2 deficit in the third set and embracing one of his most outstanding comebacks in a career. There were many turnarounds, and the crowd at Margaret Court Arena witnessed incredible strokes on each side. Thanasi blasted 37 aces, but it was not enough to carry him home. The home star fired 102 winners and 67 unforced errors, staying aggressive and beating Andy’s 69-43 ratio. They stayed neck and neck in the shortest, mid-range and most advanced rallies, with nothing to separate them until the end. Murray seized five out of 22 break points and gave serve away four times, prevailing with a late break in the deciding set’s closing stages to move into the third round. Barely having anything left in the tank, Andy fought like a lion against Roberto Bautista Agut and experienced a 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 loss after three and a half hours.
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