The former British No 1 came back from a set down against Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Sydney Tennis Classic; he won 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 after over three hours on court; the British athlete has been given a wild card for Australian Open, which starts on Monday
Wednesday 12 January 2022 14:16, UK
Andy Murray continued his preparation for the Australian Open with a hard-fought victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the second round of the Sydney Tennis Classic.
This contest was a much sterner examination than his first-round win against world No 345 Viktor Durasovic, the three-time Grand Slam winner eventually triumphed 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 after over three hours on court.
Murray has been given a wild card for the first Grand Slam of the year, which starts on Monday. The draw will take place on Thursday.
Early on, the match in Sydney did not look like it would last for a long time when Murray raced into a 4-1 lead after half an hour.
Murray led 5-2 and served for the opening set but some carelessness set in. Basilashvili then battled back to go 6-5 ahead and he forced Murray to serve to stay in the set. The 34-year-old did so, but lost the tie-break as he crashed a backhand into the net.
The second set went with serve until Murray again got the first break to take a 3-2 lead. He held serve to make it 4-2 before squandering his opportunity to serve for the set in the 10th game, as Basilashvili levelled things up at 5-5 once more.
Murray had to serve to stay in the match at 6-5 down but was able to, before levelling things up in another tie-break.
The former world No 1 was again first with the break of serve in the deciding set to lead 3-0. Basilashvili had to work hard to avoid a second break in the fourth game but managed to stay in the match, which remained on serve until Murray served it out.
However, he had to save a break point to earn victory, which came when the Georgian hit a forehand return into the net on Murray's second serve.
The 34-year-old joins fellow Brit Dan Evans in the quarter-finals after he cruised to a straight-sets victory over Spain's Pedro Martinez.
"I do like the physicality, but I'd rather make it easier on myself," Murray said in his post-match interview.
"Basilashvili is hitting the ball consistently bigger than anyone on tour and I was having to do a lot of defending and running - my legs held up well in the end.
"Sometimes it felt I was hitting good serves and he was hitting massive shots. In these conditions, with no wind, he is very comfortable and he was hitting huge balls one after the other, I was just having to fend them off.
"I got a lot of free points with my serve. The rallies were on his terms a lot of the time, so I served a bit bigger midway through the second set. When he was serving, I tried to take time away."
Murray will now face David Goffin in the quarter-finals, someone else who knows about all about an injury comeback.
"He had a tough year last year, missing a lot of tennis due to surgery," Murray said. "He's on his way back, but he's been up in the top 10, 15 in the world for many years before his injuries. I'm sure he'll want to get back there."
