On Wednesday, Andy Murray of Great Britain advanced to the second round of the Miami Open after overcoming a physically tired Matteo Berrettini. Murray’s victory allowed him to advance to the next round.
A three-time champion of the Grand Slam competition, who also won the Masters tournament in 2009 and 2013, prevailed over the injury-plagued Italian by a score of 4-6, 6-3, and 6-4. The Italian seemed to be on the edge of passing out during the second set.
After suffering a string of injuries, Berrettini was able to join the Miami Open with a protected ranking. However, in order to prevent him from collapsing on the court, he had to use his racket. After that, the medical staff tested his heart rate and blood pressure.
The 27-year-old player made a valiant effort to play on into the third set, but it was obvious that his mobility was limited. Murray capitalized on this by achieving a hard-fought break in the opening game of the decider, and then he defeated three break chances to win the match.
The former world number one has finally caught up to Berrettini in their head-to-head series, which is now tied at 3-3. In addition, the former world number one defeated the Italian in a five-set classic during the first round of the Australian Open, which took place the previous year.
In a strange turn of events, Murray will now have to compete against the same opponent that eliminated him from the first round of the 2024 Australian Open. That opponent is Tomas Martin Etcheverry, the 29th seed from Argentina. The winner of this match will have the opportunity to play either Tomas Machac or Andrey Rublev in the round of 32.
A little earlier in the day, Murray’s countryman Jack Draper made short work of Taro Daniel of Japan in his Miami debut match. Draper cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 victory with just 69 minutes remaining on the clock.
As a means of making atonement for his first-round loss in Indian Wells to Christopher O’Connell, whom he defeated 6-1 in the first set, Draper racked up a staggering ten aces, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to enhancing his service game.
In contrast, Daniel did not manage to bring up a single opportunity to break Draper and was only able to preserve one of the four first-serve opportunities he faced. The British number two only lost one of his 29 first-serve games against Daniel.
Draper scored his first match point with a blazing cross-court winner in the third and seventh games of the second set. The 22-year-old player needed just one break in the sixth game to win the opening set. Daniel, who was overwhelmed, dropped serve in the third and seventh games of the second set.
After prevailing in his initial encounter with Daniel, Draper is now getting ready to face another opponent for the first time. Nicolas Jarry, a Chilean player, will be competing in the second round of the Masters competition. Jarry is the 22nd seed heading into the tournament.
While Draper is attempting to make his first-ever participation in the third round of the Miami Open, Dan Evans, who is now ranked 43rd in the ATP rankings and is only one spot behind the 22-year-old, is competing against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Evans is attempting to put an end to a losing streak of three matches.
