Andy Murray secured another impressive win in 2023 after seeing off the tough challenge of Alexander Zverev under the lights at the Qatar Open.
The two-time Doha champion backed up his deciding tie-break win over Lorenzo Sonego in the last round to come through a titanic tussle against the German to take it 7-6, 2-6, 7-5 in just over three hours.
It was a topsy-turvy match-up that saw momentum shift between both players over three brutal sets of hitting but the Scot showed the kind of nerve that has helped him win titles around the world to send Zverev home early. Murray matches are rarely straightforward affairs these days and his trademark ‘never say die’ attitude was out in force once again as he overturned an early break in the first set with two fabulous winners.
Another permanent throughout Murray’s career has been his ability to make his opponent hit just that one ball too many and he was at it again with Zverev lurking in his next service game as he forced the German long to lead 4-3. But Zverev was on the cusp of breaking into the World’s No.1 spot last year before his injury and showed flashes as to why when breaking Murray to lead 5-4, turning the screw and finding winners of his own.
The set was now on his racket but not on his terms as he meekly ploughed a backhand into the net on the first point of the game. A lack of matches and a lack of wins for the German had Murray looking the fitter at this stage and the Scot denied Zverev his opportunity by breaking straight back.
With a confident hold secured by Murray, it was the German up against a set point just minutes later, one that was saved with a delicate volley at the net. Zverev visited the net on no less than 20 occasions in the opening set and it was a game of cat and mouse as to whether Murray could pass him with winners, a challenge he seemed to rise to when finding the line with a quite brilliant winner.
But Zverev held to take the set into a tiebreak that would prove crucial for both player’s ambitions to win the match. At 4-5 Murray, Zverev complained he had heard a let on his serve after netting, a call umpire Mohamed Lahyani explained he hadn’t heard. That gave Murray his second set point and he confidently saw it out when Zverev went wide with a forehand.
Zverev was feeling a sense of injustice and he made the perfect start to the second set by breaking in the first Murray service game. Twice he had been a break up in the first and twice Murray had immediately pegged him back but that wasn’t to be the case on this occasion as he took a 3-0 lead. Murray was looking laboured and Zverev was undoubtedly hitting the harder ball, an element that saw him take the second set 6-2 after breaking Murray for a second time.
Murray had to dig deep to find something as Zverev was on all out attack, dictating the majority of points and forcing Murray to work hard just to hold serve. But the former World No.1 let out a roar as held serve at 3-3, the first time he hadn't faced a break point in the set. There was a sense the Zverev storm had been weathered and Murray found a second wind when it mattered, producing an out-of-this-world drop shot to take lead 0-30 at 5-5 on the Zverev serve. That was converted to a break, meaning he would serve for it at 6-5.
And the Scot closed out another memorable lung-busting victory with a crosscourt winner to secure his second top 20 win of the year. Murray will now face France's Alexandre Muller after the qualifier took out eighth seed Botic van de Zandschip in straight sets.
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