Mats Wilander says he's been 'proved wrong' by Andy Murray after epic Australian Open first round win

ByLewis Mason

Published 17/01/2023 at 15:47 GMT

Murray saw off former World No.6 Matteo Berrettini 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(6) in Melbourne. Five-time Australian Open finalist Murray entered the Grand Slam unseeded and fended off a match point in the fifth to reach the second round, where he will meet Thanasi Kokkinakis or Fabio Fognini. After previously writing off Murray's chances, Wilander addressed the British player, saying 'you’re back'.

Eurosport expert Mats Wilander apologised to Andy Murray following his epic Australian Open first round victory over Matteo Berrettini saying, “you’ve proved me wrong”.

After being plagued with injuries in recent years, talk has often surrounded Murray with regard to when he will call time on his tennis career.

However, the former World No.1 rolled back the years to show he can still compete with the best at the game’s biggest tournaments - beating 13th seed Berrettini.

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Murray took a two set lead on Rod Laver Arena, but 2021 Wimbledon semi-finalist Berrettini came roaring back to force a deciding set.

The Italian had the chance to win it but threw away a match point before Murray dug deep to take the final set on a tie-break.

Speaking after the match, Wilander admitted he wrote Murray off too soon, saying, “A couple of years ago Andy, you played at the French Open and I was questioning you taking a wildcard. You went out and played against Stan Wawrinka on the Philippe-Chatrier, you didn’t look motivated and I thought maybe you shouldn’t have taken that wildcard.

“You then later told me that you were going to take every wildcard because ‘I am wanting to get back’. Today, you’ve proved me wrong in a way because to see you fight like that, to see your problem-solving skills and to get rewarded for all the hard work makes it all worthwhile to stay in this job”, he said.

Murray will come up against either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Fabio Fognini in the next round.

Looking ahead to the rest of Murray’s tournament, Wilander said, “We’ve missed you playing at the top of your game and you’re back in every way, so well done and I can’t wait to see your projection into the tournament now you've beaten one of the best players in the world.”

Murray beats Berrettini in five epic sets in the first round of the Aus Open

After gaining his first win over a top 20 player in a Grand Slam since 2017, Murray said he expects his body to feel the pain - especially after producing a flying volley during the fourth set tie-break. Exactly what you want to be doing when you have a metal hip.

• How do tie-breaks work at Australian Open? What are final set rules at Grand Slams?
• Jabeur jokes she played with her sister's backhand after hard-fought win

Despite the tiredness seeping through his body, Murray remained ever the professional and made time to tidy the court before he left.

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Stream the 2023 Australian Open live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.co.uk

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