“It was an unbelievably tough match" says Murray on 3-hour battle with Basilashvili

Andy Murray needed over three hours to find a solution to the puzzle named Basilashvili but in the end, it was worth it.

Murray faced very stiff competition from Basilashvili in their 2nd ever matchup ever. The British player welcomed midnight on the court as he needed over three hours to defeat the Georgian in Sydney. It was worth it though as it gave Murray confidence that he truly can stay with players that are ranked within the top 30.

After the match he said:

“It was an unbelievably tough match. He is hitting the ball consistently bigger than anyone on the Tour. I was having to do a lot of defending and running but my legs stood up well and at the end, I served really well in the last set.”

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A crucial part of the victory for Murray was the ability to win points with his serve. In a long and physically gruelling match, those short and free points proved very vital to winning and Murray admitted that:

“I got a lot of free points on my serve. When we were in the rallies, it was more on his terms, so I tried to serve a little bit bigger and thankfully they went in. When he was serving, I tried to take time away from him and rush him and I hit some better returns.”