Tennis, Indian Wells: Murray comes back to Daniel and takes victory # 700

Indian Wells gives the 700th career victory to Andy Murray who beats the Japanese Taro Daniel for 1-6 6-2 6-4 at the end of an intense and fun match.

The match

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The first to save break points is Taro Daniel: Murray seems to have a better start, but after the double missed opportunity he suffers a partial of 6 consecutive games. Murray builds well, but he is not polished and the Japanese, with a good percentage of firsts, closes the stage in just 28 minutes. In the second set the situation is reversed: Daniel begins to make mistakes, the Scotsman escapes at 5-0, then loses the serve to zero at 5-1, but closes with another break again at zero. In the first game of the third set Murray suffers the break. The trades are getting longer and Murray has less and less chance of winning the trades. On 3-2, 15 even in the third set Daniel wins an interminable exchange passing the Scot with an easy lob. But it is precisely the sixth game that gives Murray enough energy to recover the break and reach his rival on 3 all. The Scotsman sips his strength, takes advantage of the free error from the bottom of the Japanese and screams all his anger by taking the lead for the first time in the match (4-3, but Japanese service). Daniel understands the importance of the moment well and when he holds the serve for the 4 all he screams even louder than the Scotsman did in the previous game. In the ninth game Murray goes into trouble, gets stiff, hits badly and offers the Japanese a delicate break point that would send his rival to serve for the match. Murray serves a very worked second in the middle, foils the occasion and screams again when he climbs 5-4. In the first point of the tenth game, Daniel hits a smash and slips under 0-40. Murray thus has three consecutive piont matches. On the first he loses the support of the foot and shoots out an interlocutory straight. On the second he attacks, saves the first volley well but on the second he puts in the net. The third is the good one and Sir Andy Murray, with his arms raised, reaches another precious milestone in a splendid career.

The numbers

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Murray thus achieves the 700th victory of his career. Among the active players Murray is the fourth most successful after Roger Federer (1251 games won), Rafael Nadal (1043) and Novak Djokovic (991). Murray won the first official match in the major ATP circuit at Queen’s in 2005, overtaking Santiago Ventura. Daniel had beaten Murray in January at the Australian Open but lost in the rematch played in Doha. Now in the second round he is expected by the Russian Alexander Bublik.