Andy Murray celebrated a huge milestone at the 2024 Cinch Championships, and there was no better way than to win the 1,000th career match he played.
Playing his 1,000th career match at the Queen's Club is rather fitting for Murray because he has a tremendous legacy at the event. He won the tournament five times in singles and once in doubles, which is one of the best legacies any player left at the event.
Returning there in 2024 was amazing for the Brit, and winning a match was even better. Just the fact that it was his 1,000th career match makes it all the more special. So how did he do it?
He faced Alexei Popyrin, a very solid player who knows how to play on grass. The Australian is powerful and can move pretty well around the court, which makes him dangerous.
Murray weathered that storm easily in the opening set, winning 6-3. It was a set of impressive play from the former world no. 1. He served well and just played well during the rallies, totaling 9 winners and only 1 unforced error.
He didn't face a single break point, and it was just the best tennis we'd seen from him in a while. The second set was a comeback set from Popyrin, who was unplayable in that set.
He was hitting his serves at an incredible level and barely lost any points on serve because he had 13 winners and only 1 unforced error. Murray didn't play as sharply in that one, but he wasn't bad by any means.
The final set was exactly what Murray needed. He opened it with an early break that immediately cut Popyrin's momentum. He used the Australian's bad serving early to jump out ahead and never looked back.
The final score was 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for the Brit, who might be enjoying his final weeks on the ATP Tour. He recently confirmed that Wimbledon might be his last event.