Andy Murray believes that Novak Djokovic created a psychological advantage for himself by winning matches where he was facing match points. Djokovic, 35, has many times won matches when he was a match point down; notably, Djokovic saved two championship points in the 2019 Wimbledon final against Roger Federer.
This week in Dubai, Murray saved three match points in his tournament opener against Lorenzo Sonego. A couple of days later, Murray saved five match points to beat Jiri Lehecka in the Dubai semi-final. After beating Lehecka, Murray made an interesting observation.
“Someone like Novak has come back from very difficult situations, and it certainly seems that the players think about it a bit when they approach the finish line. That’s something I’m feeling a little bit right now.» Murray said, according to Musab Abid.
Andy Murray on the psychological advantage of saving MPs:
“Someone like Novak has come back from very difficult situations, and it certainly seems that the players think about it a bit when they approach the finish line.
That’s something I’m feeling a little bit right now.» — Musab (@Musab_Abid) February 24, 2023
Murray: game for moments like this
Murray, 35, underwent two major hip surgeries several years ago. Since 2017, Murray has not made deep Grand Slam runs.
When it became clear that Murray was no longer the player he once was, some around him began to question why he was still playing. «When people have asked me a lot in recent years, like why you’re still playing or what you hope to get out of the later years of your career, it’s like, yeah, for moments like that in big games, you know, the later stages of the events», Murray said.
Andy Murray: “When people have asked me a lot in recent years, like why do you keep playing or what do you hope to get out of the last few years of your career, it’s like, yeah, at times. like that in the big games, you know, the last stages of the events”.
— Musab (@Musab_Abid) February 24, 2023
Meanwhile, Murray has been pulling off heroics at the start of the 2023 season. In the first round of the Australian Open, Murray saved a match point to stun Matteo Berrettini. In his next Australian Open match, Murray rallied from two sets to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in a match that lasted almost six hours.
Murray, who turns 36 in May, has sped up the clock a bit at the start of the 2023 season and many are happy to see the three-time Grand Slam champion achieving remarkable results.
