“Iron-Man” Andy Murray has landed an emotional victory in Melbourne. The Brit himself no longer believed in returning to the Australian Open as a player.
Andy Murray threw his arms in the air and gazed at the sky in awe for a moment. Then the five-time Australian Open finalist roared his joy with wild cheers, and the spectators in the John Cain Arena rose. “It was a very tough three or four years,” said the former world number one when he had found his breath again: “I thought I had played my last match here three years ago.”
Back in January 2019, the Scot announced in Melbourne that his career was probably over. Murray, the three-time Grand Slam winner, was finished. The hip hurt constantly, no therapy brought relief. And so the British tennis hero sat down in front of the press with a trembling voice and tears in his eyes and announced his departure from professional sport.
On Tuesday, the 34-year-old celebrated a triumphant first-round win in a five-set thriller against the world number 23 on his first return to the Australian Open. Nikoloz Basilashvili, Murray defeated the Georgian 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5. “It’s great to win a five-set fight like this here,” said the two-time Wimbledon champion. His next opponent is the Japanese Taro Daniel.
An operation saved the career of the physically active two-time Olympic champion, who is currently 113th in the world rankings. Playing with a metal surface prosthesis, Murray can still keep up, as he did against Basilashvili, last year’s winner of the Munich tournament.
“I put a lot of work and effort into it. There were also various problems after the operation,” said Murray, adding not without pride: “But I kept going. And days like this show me that it was worth it.”
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