Andy Murray is making a habit of late-match heroics in 2023, continuing the streak of dramatic wins he started back at the Australian Open.
Showing the resilience he's known for, the British star saved three match points and clawed back from 0-3 down in a sudden-death tiebreak to beat Lorenzo Sonego 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 in the opening round of the Qatar Open. This victory reinforces Murray's trend of overturning set deficits this season, specifically in his post-Australian Open return. He now moves on to face Alexander Zverev of Germany in the round of 16, hoping to book his place in his first ATP quarter-final of the season.
The tension peaked in the final set when Murray was on the brink of defeat at 4-5, 15/40 on his serve, and later struggled at 0-3 in the deciding tie-break. Despite the odds, the 35-year-old found another level, sweeping seven of the final eight points to win a grueling two-hour and 30-minute encounter. This marks the second straight event where his first match went down to a final-set tiebreaker.
Murray's outing got off to a rocky start, falling behind in the first set after Sonego broke his serve to love in the very first game. The 27-year-old Italian played clinical tennis to maintain his lead without needing further break points. However, Murray flipped the script in the second set, playing aggressive, clean baseline shots from both sides to surge to a dominant 5-0 lead that Sonego couldn't recover from.
The final set was a nerve-wracking affair that seemed to favor Sonego, who used powerful groundstrokes to keep the Briton under pressure. At one point, the Italian was completely dominant, winning 13 consecutive points on his serve. Yet, Murray remained composed and persistent, eventually shifting the momentum in his favor to steal the match.
With Monday's win, Murray maintains a perfect 7-0 record in opening-round matches at this outdoor hard-court event, where he previously won titles in 2008 and 2009 and reached the final four other times. Reflecting on the match, Murray admitted it was a struggle and took time to adjust to Sonego's high-risk, aggressive style of play. He noted that while Sonego played boldly, a few critical errors at the end allowed Murray to seize the opportunity and turn the match around.