Andy Murray had to endure a very big scare against Chris O'Connell in Dubai as the Australian put forward a superb effort nearly beating the former world number one.
The battle against O'Connell was very emotional for Murray who celebrated after point emphatically. He also cursed and complained and reacted angrily every time his opponent would hit a ridiculous winner and there were many of them. Speaking after the match Murray said:
“I enjoyed the result. [But] what went on in the middle, not so easy."
Murray was visible frustrated for the better part of the match and asked about it he said:
"I was very frustrated early on in the match, couldn’t quite find my game and he was dictating a lot of the rallies. I managed to serve a bit better as the match went on which helped me a lot, and I just managed to tough it out in the end.”
The serve was a crucial part of the win for Murray as it delivered him many free points at a time when O'Connell practically dominated rallies. Murray's next match will either be against Sinner or Davidovich Fokina and for Murray, it makes no difference as he still believes in himself:
“I still feel like I can compete at the highest level. It’s not easy, physically it’s very challenging for me, but winning matches like that is obviously very satisfying.”