- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Thursday, April 25, 2024
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Wednesday, April 24, 2024
- Novak Djokovic Earns 5th Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Tuesday, April 23, 2024
- Rafael Nadal Commits to 2024 Laver Cup
- Mutua Madrid Open Schedule and Draws for Monday, April 22, 2024
- Casper Ruud Tops Stefanos Tsitsipas for Barcelona Title
- Former World No. 1 Garbiñe Muguruza Retires
- Fritz Flies Into First Clay-Court Final in Munich
- Munich Open Schedule and Draws for Sunday, April 21, 2024
- Home For Sale Minutes From The Indian Wells Tennis Gardens
- Ricky’s pick for the Barcelona final: Ruud vs. Tsitsipas
- Barcelona Open Schedule and Draws for Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Munich Open Schedule and Draws for Saturday, April 20, 2024
- Swiatek Defeats Raducanu to Set Up Stuttgart Semifinal vs. Rybakina
Murray magic in Melbourne as five-time finalist upsets Berrettini in five sets
- Updated: January 17, 2023
Andy Murray may not be a Grand Slam title contender like he was during the prime of his career, but he can still produce the same kind of drama that was on display during a stretch of five Australian Open final appearances in the span of seven years.
Although another final certainly wasn’t what was at stake on Tuesday afternoon at Melbourne Park, the atmosphere seemed to suggest otherwise. In the match of the tournament so far, Murray outlasted Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(10-6) after four hours and 49 minutes of thrilling competition inside Rod Laver Arena.
The circuitous route from the first set to the last winner off the net cord was every bit of the roller-coaster ride that the scoreline indicates. Berrettini came out flat but roared back in sets three and four before putting himself within one point of victory late in the fifth. With Murray serving at 4-5, 30-40, Berrettini got a look at an easy backhand pass but dumped it in the net.
Given new life in the match, just as he has been in his career as a whole, Murray managed to force a super-tiebreaker and dominated it 10-6 to get across the finish line at long last.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.