Australian Open: Andy Murray wins marathon thriller against Matteo Berrettini
Andy Murray showed great fighting spirit and skill in a five-set win over Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Jan 17, 2023, 09:29 am
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The spectators in the Rod Laver Arena of the Australian Open got their money's worth this afternoon (local time): Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini delivered an absolute marathon thriller in the first round of the "Happy Slam", in which the Scotsman after 4 :49 hours of playing time finally prevailed with 6:3, 6:3, 4:6, 6:7 (9) and 7:6 (6), whereby the short decision was played out in the last round via a match tiebreak. The two-time Wimbledon champion will now face either local hero Thanasi Kokkinakis or Italian Fabio Fognini in round two.
Previously in the John Cain Arena, in which Andrey Rublev had defeated the Austrian Dominic Thiem in three sets in the first game of the day, the eighth seeded US American Talyor Fritz had prevailed after 2:24 against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. The 25-year-old Californian meets either Taiwan's Chun-Hsin Tseng or wildcard local hero Alexei Popyrin in the second round.
Even before the "heat policy" prevented the game from playing on the outdoor courts in the early afternoon (Otszeit), Grigor Dimitorv drew in the 1573 Arena with a 7: 6 / 3), 7: 5, 6: 2 against the Russian Aslan Karatsev Round of the last 64 players. There the Bulgarian, who is ranked 27th, can work on the Serb Laslo Djere. Briton Daniel Evans is also further after a 6: 4, 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4 win over Argentinian Facundo Bagnis.
The Melbourne men's individual tableau.
laver arena