Tim Henman hails 'incredible' Andy Murray following Matteo Berrettini win, calls it ‘best win since 2016’
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Updated 17/01/2023 at 11:06 GMT
Andy Murray dug deep to land a sensational Australian Open first-round win against Matteo Berrettini at the Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. The former world No. 1 took the 13th seed all the way before coming out on top in a tie-break, winning 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(6). Eurosport tennis experts Tim Henman and Mats Wilander praised Murray’s efforts as he continues his “incredible journey”.
Australian Open highlights - Murray battles past Berrettini in thriller
Andy Murray continued his “incredible journey” after knocking out 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday after four hours and 49 minutes of play.
Murray rolled back the years to land an eyebrow-raising 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6(6) victory at the Rod Laver Arena, serving Berrettini his first tie-break loss at the Australian Open in his last nine faced.
Tim Henman was full of praise for Murray, and told Eurosport's Australian Open coverage the win “speaks volumes” of the 35-year-old’s character, adding it was his best match since 2016.
“Incredible performance," he began. "Best match I have seen Murray [play] since 2016, when he was at the top of the game.
"And Murray’s been around for a long time and played a lot of amazing matches at most of these tournaments, especially at the Australian Open having been in the final five times.
“But knowing what he’s been through with the hip surgery, to play Berrettini who is an amazing player at the top of the game. For Murray to come through in those circumstances, up two sets to love, back to two sets all, serving second in the fifth set, to find a way to get across the line, I think it speaks volumes for his character as a person, and as a player.”
Murray has had multiple hip operations over the last few years, which left his tennis career hanging in the balance.
However, the Scotsman's win over the 2021 Wimbledon finalist proved he was capable of competing at the top level, winning his first match over a top 20 player in a Grand Slam since 2017.
“He’s achieved so much in the game and he’s on this incredible journey back from the hip [injury],” Henman continued. “He’s lost quite a few of those big matches and that frustrates him but I think it motivates him as well.
“And there’s a lot of people around the sport that don’t necessarily have the belief that he can have a good run in a Grand Slam, and he is the one that has the belief because that’s why he’s putting in all the hard work, and to see him come through a victory against a proper player on Rod Laver Arena in the first round of a Slam - it’s unbelievable.
"It will just, if possible, increase that motivation for him to keep putting in the hard yards and hopefully back this result up, because it’s not going to be easy."
Mats Wilander added that
“It’s so easy on the outside to say ‘oh, well it’s Andy Murray, he should be winning these matches,” Wilander added. “But when you haven’t done it yourself it's such a huge difference.
“It doesn’t matter how much you practice, you will never get to this situation unless you play matches, and we, somehow it was four or five years ago since he won these matches, but time flies for us and for him that feels a long time ago since he won a match like that.”
Henman called Murray’s win an “incredible watch”, and praised the way he came through the serious injuries that could have ended his career on court.
“It’s almost two different careers, because of the nature of the operation it’s not like he’s had a knee surgery or elbow, he’s had a metal hip.
“And with the time he’s been away, he’s had to make his body adjust to that, and it’s taken time.
“His movement was pretty ordinary to begin with, [but now] he's getting better and better, and for me the level of tennis that he was playing last year was a bit disappointing.
“I thought that would be the easy bit to get back, but now you’re seeing a performance like this - his movement, his stamina, and his quality of tennis came together.”
Murray will face either Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis or Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the second round.
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