Andy Murray celebrates after defeating Jiri Lehecka in the semi-final. Pictures: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Doha: Former World No.1 Andy Murray yesterday showed that he has still got his vintage fashion left in him when he pulled off another scintillating victory in Doha, this time against Czech Jiri Lehecka to reach the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.
The Briton beat the World No.55 with a 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) in another marathon battle to reach his first ATP Tour final since June last year.
In the final at Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex today, Murray faces World No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6(7) in yesterday’s second semi-final.
Daniil Medvedev hits a return against Felix Auger-Aliassime during their semi-final match.
“I don’t know (how I won). That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I’ve had in my career,” Murray, who recovered from 3-5 down in the final set, said after the dramatic win which came in just over two and half hours.
“You know, he obviously had the three match points at five four. But I also think when I was serving at five three and then, I don’t know. I mean it was his first time maybe serving for a final. So I had to make sure that I tried to keep the pressure on at the end because I know how difficult it is to serve matches like that out. But yeah, I have no idea how I managed to turn that one round, to be honest,” the former World No.1 Murray said.
The win improved Murray’s record for 2023 to 6-2 as the three-time Grand Slam winner seeks his first ATP Tour title since October 2019 at the European Open in Belgium where he beat Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka for his 46th title.
This is the fifth occasion that Murray, regarded as one of the greatest in the sport in recent history along with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – popularly known as Big Four, has reached the final of Doha tournament.
“This tournament over the years has had many great players. Federer played a lot, and guys like Roddick, Nadal and Novak has played. Those guys have obviously achieved a lot more than me but this is one small win that I can have over them, so I’ll enjoy this evening and hopefully I can put on a good performance tomorrow,” Murray, who now holds most number of appearances in the Doha final, said yesterday.
Meanwhile, for Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime, it was a repeat of the Rotterdam quarter-final in which the duo met a week ago. Seven days ago, Medvedev beat Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4 on his way to clinch the title in Rotterdam, but yesterday the Canadian World No.9 did not let Medvedev have it easy in the second set.
The 27-year-old Medvedev had to deliver another rock-solid performance to eliminate Auger-Aliassime as he saved three set points in the second-set tie-break before converting his first match point to complete the victory and reach his maiden Qatar ExxonMobil Open final.
The Russian was brimming with confidence following his hard-fought win.
“Today and yesterday the matches were super close and yeah, confidence matters because he had two set points,”Medvedev, who defeated Christopher O’Connell in a thrilling three-setter in Thursday’s quarter-final, said yesterday.
“Confidence matters, because he (Auger-Aliassime) had three set points. I managed to just stay in there and it was enough to win, but a very high-level match. Two hours for two sets,” Medvedev said.
“But the match we saw before was even crazier. So I don’t want to talk too much about mine,” Medvedev said about the first semi-final between Murray and Lehecka.
“It’s unbelievable what he (Murray) has done this week,” Medvedev said about his next opponent.
“As soon as someone arrives at match point, that’s where the match starts. So I have to be at my best from the first to the last point tomorrow to try to beat him. He’s a legend. He’s playing better and better, I feel like, not only here but in general. This is amazing to see. He’s fighting. Today was just unbelievable, the way he won, so I’m really happy to face him tomorrow,” Medvedev, who holds a 2-0 record against the Briton, said.
Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation Secretary-General Tariq Zainal, Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2023 Tournament Director Karim Alami, Vice-President of Governmental and Public Affairs at ExxonMobil Saleh Al Mana with the doubles winners Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden and runners-up Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp.
Earlier, Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden edged Constant Lestienne and Botic van de Zandschulp 6-7(5), 6-4, 10-6 in the doubles final to lift their maiden ATP Tour title as a team.
