Andy Murray survives an inspired O'Connell in Dubai

Andy Murray survived a very close match against Christopher O'Connell in Dubai winning 6-7(4) 6-3 7-5 and advancing to the next round.

It was a very inspired effort from the Australian who played pretty good tennis overall. Murray heavily relied on his serve especially down the stretch with the percentage of unreturned first serves peaking at 44 %. Had Murray not served as well as he did he would have lost this match as O'Connell for the most part outplayed Murray in rallies.

The first set was a very close one where Murray played a bit better early on. The British player had break points first but he failed to convert them. Eventually, O'Connell took the 5-4 lead and he served for the set but Murray was able to survive that and force a tiebreak. In it, it was O'Connell who proved better winning 7-4.

The 2nd set was played much better by Murray who was able to take an early break. He held it for the majority of the set clinching it 6-3. The final set was another close one where O'Connell actually played better for the most part. He had a few break points, especially towards the end of the set but Murray was able to survive.

In the end, O'Connell dropped his level in the final game of the set with Murray finally getting some luck. The Australian played well above his level and nearly won the match but eventually faltered towards the end.