Andy Murray wins thrilling battle against Opelka in Sydney

Murray and Opelka battled it out for almost two and half hours which is unusual for the American who prefers to keep rallies and points very short. Murray was determined to keep them longer in order to maximize his chance of winning and ultimately it worked. By the end of it, Opelka was getting worn out as well and his concentration dropped.

Somewhat traditionally when playing Opelka, a set finished in the tiebreak. It was the first set and it was a good one by both. Neither allowed much on serve and it concluded without anybody having a break point. Ultimately in the tiebreak, Opelka was able to edge him out 8-6. The 2nd set was a clinic by Andy Murray.

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He was absolutely brilliant on his own serve barely losing any points. On return, he was able to patiently wait for Opelka to start serving worse than usual and once he did he took his chance. Attacking him mostly on his 2nd serve aggressively Murray was able to win 11 of 14 of those points which proved enough to secure the set with 6-4.

Something quite similar happened in the final set as well but this time around Murray's level was a bit worse as well. The British player applied pressure on Oeplka but the American succumbed only very late in the set at 4-4. Murray closed it out with 6-4 to move on to the final.