Andy Murray took the first step out of the worst slump of his career by beating France’s Alexandre Muller for much of the match before going into Qatar Open with 6-1 confidence towards the end. Second round. 7-6(5) win.
Murray, who has never lost more than four games in a row in his 21-year career, has lost six straight on the court in Doha, with his last victory coming in October. “The last few months have been really difficult for me on the court,” he said later. “Didn’t win a lot of games, lost a lot of close games, and it got tighter and tighter at the end. Obviously happy to get through.”
While the 36-year-old Murray is more physically limited, many of his recent problems are due to mental disorders. The world No. 50 has looked completely lacking in confidence at almost every decisive moment in his past few matches. On Tuesday, however, he played free and focused from the start, injecting more speed into his forehand and trying to use it to dictate. He seals points at the net, uses angles to open up the court, and utilizes lobs effectively.
After shaking off a knee problem, Murray seemed to be on his way to victory, taking the first set and breaking serve, but then he lost the chance to break and found himself in a tough battle. But even as world No. 75 Muller began to dominate the baseline and land shots, Murray remained calm. At the end of an extremely difficult tie-break, he won the final three points from 4-5 down and closed the score with a crucial backhand return on match point.
Understandably, Murray celebrated his victory with more enthusiasm than his usual reaction to a first-round win at an ATP 250 event. After pumping his fist several times, the Scot made his way to the dugout to pay tribute to five members of the squad. When the postgame interviewer pointed out that this was his first win of the year, Murray jokingly raised his arms in triumph.
“I’m proud that I was able to finish the race and get another win,” he said. “Delighted for my team who have been working very hard with me to try to find solutions to help me get through this difficult time and hopefully this is the start of something better.”
Murray next faces 18-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik, who is looking to win consecutive tournaments for the first time since August.
Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Sabalenka suffered a heavy defeat in her first match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, losing 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-0 to Croatian Donna Vick. strange. The second seed has not competed since winning in Melbourne in January.
Iga Swiatek, who won the WTA 1000 event in Doha last week, defeated Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-4 in Dubai to reach the third round.
