Andy Murray beats Roman Safiullin after trailing 4-1 in final set to reach second round of Swiss Indoors in Basel
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Updated 25/10/2022 at 16:57 GMT
Andy Murray once again displayed his dogged determination when he seemed on the brink of a competition exit. Safiullin had a 4-1 lead in the final set, prompting Murray to dig deep in order to progress in Basel. The pair were not due to meet at the tournament, but Sebastian Korda was forced to withdraw due to injury. Murray will play Roberto Bautista Agut or Laslo Djere next.
Murray battles back from a set down to beat Safiullin at Basel Open
The first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel was no joke for Andy Murray as he was forced to fight back from a set down to see off qualifier Roman Safiullin.
Murray was in a jovial mood when he arrived in Switzerland, with the former world No.1, and staunch Arsenal fan, saying he sent Swiss icon Roger Federer a message as soon as he touched down, saying: "Hey Roger, I just landed in the city of one of the greatest athletes of all time: Granit Xhaka."
Arsenal midfielder Xhaka is captain of the Switzerland national team.
The joking was soon over, though, when Murray took to court and found himself a set down after being edged out by his Russian opponent in a first set tie-break.
On the back foot, Murray saved five break points early in the second set but bounced back to capitalise on one of his own before seeing out the set to take the match to a decider.
The pair were not even due to meet at the tournament, with Murray originally drawn against Sebastian Korda, but he was forced to pull out due to injury.
However, the crowd were not short-changed in the slightest, as they witnessed an impressive comeback by Murray in the third to take victory in two hours and 37 minutes.
After losing his serve, and finding himself 4-1 down and seemingly crashing out of the competition, Murray roared back to win five consecutive games - converting his second match point to clinch the win.
Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut or Serbia’s Laslo Dere await in the next round.
Pablo Carreno Busta is also through after a straight sets win over Sebastian Baez of Argentina, while Alex Molcan defeated American Mackenzie McDonald.
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