Australian Open: Andy Murray - The bravura comeback of the non-pensioner
Andy Murray once again demonstrated his fighter qualities in the first round of the Australian Open 2022.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 18, 2022, 02:01 pm
Three years and four days ago, Andy Murray stood in the Melbourne Arena and listened to the obituaries of his career. It was apparently his very last evening at the Australian Open on January 14, 2019, Murray had lost in five dramatic first-round sets to Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut, a few days earlier the injured Scot had announced his retirement from professional tennis during the course of the season . At the time, a hastily produced video flickered from the large stadium scoreboards, with emotional greetings from the stars and superstars of the scene to their suffering colleagues. Rafael Nadal, for example, regretted that there would soon be no more big duels with Murray, and Roger Federer put it succinctly on record: "Andy, I'm your biggest fan." Murray had to swallow hard, a few tears rolled down his cheeks cheeks. He finally left the scene with slumped shoulders.
But when the first-round chapter at the 2022 Australian Open Championships was closed on Tuesday, it was precisely that Sir Andrew Barron Murray - the alleged tennis pensioner - who wrote the most striking and impressive lines. Because against his own intentions, against all expectations and logic, the 34-year-old was still and again in his beloved business of tough Grand Slam elimination games: Returned after two hip operations and a longer injury break due to pelvic problems, the tough Scotsman played in the usual fighter stature A bravura Melbourne comeback - after almost four hours, the three-time Grand Slam champion greeted as a 6: 1, 3: 6, 6: 4, 6: 7, 6: 4 winner against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. "Man, I'm broken," groaned the long-distance expert on the center courts after the exhausting marathon duel in the John Cain Arena - the renamed stadium where he actually retired in 2019.
Kohlschreiber also impressed
Murray's win wasn't the only amazing performance from an irrepressible tennis veteran: While under the radar of the larger international tennis public, so was 38-year-old Philipp's confident 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 opening win Eberhard Hermann Kohlschreiber against the Italian Marco Cecchinato a Grand Slam exclamation mark. The match was "impeccable", said the competent Augsburger later, who in the old days only chooses his appearances in the tour business according to his mood. The 15th start in Melbourne was initially not on the calendar for the long-time Davis Cup player, and it was only at the last minute that he decided to go on a business trip to the other side of the world. Kohlschreiber has now slipped to 134th place in the world rankings, and the pandemic has often robbed him of the motivation to continue fighting for game, set and win. Now, however, the veteran wants to "put the pedal to the metal" at least until Wimbledon in the summer: "I think I can cause trouble for one or the other." Maybe also the Spaniard Bautista-Agut, whom he will face on Thursday.
And Murray? He, too, finds himself in unfamiliar world ranking regions, between the Bolivian Hugo Dellien and the French Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the former frontman is now ranked 113th. But his fighting spirit, his mental toughness are still legendary, even after all the months of suffering and breaks that kept him away from the global tennis caravan. Murray can endure pain and agony like no other, even against Basilashvili he often dragged himself heavily across the pitch between rallies. But then, in the bitter exchange of blows, they also take the last, bitter steps on fast legs. Sweden's former superstar Mats Wilander called him "indestructible". Murray had already made a convincing start to the 2022 season last week when he made it to the final in Sydney - only that was completely lost in the tiresome entry farce surrounding Novak Djokovic.
The Scot's Australian Open run, who lost a whopping five finals in Melbourne in his career, had what it takes to be an even longer feel-good story: Braveheart Murray was in the round against the Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel, number 120 on the tennis hit list two as a favorite. "I'll run as long as my feet will carry me," Murray said. The man whose last Melbourne hour had actually struck three years and four days ago.
To the men's individual tableau
laver arena