‘I’ll find out tonight if that was the right move!’: Andy Murray jokes a diving volley on his metal hip may not have been the best idea – as the 35-year-old Scot celebrates an epic five-set win over Matteo Berrettini in the Australian Open first round
- Andy Murray admitted a diving volley on his metal hip may have been a mistake
- The veteran Scot beat Matteo Berrettini in a titanic five-set clash on Tuesday
- Murray took nearly five hours to beat the World No 13 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6
- The 35-year-old now progresses into the second round at the Australian Open
Andy Murray has jokingly admitted he might regret a diving volley during his epic five-set win against Matteo Berrettini because of his metal hip.
The veteran Scot, 35, beat the World No 13 Italian in a titanic tussle in the Australian Open first round, edging past his opponent 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7, 7-6, in four hours and 49 minutes after a tense tie-break.
And when asked by former British star Tim Henman if a man with his injury history should be trying diving volleys on a hard court, Murray said he would find out later.
Andy Murray (above) jokingly admitted he might regret a diving volley on his metal hip later
Veteran Murray has a metal hip and threw himself towards the ball, landing on the hard court
Asked about it after the match, he joked he would find out tonight if it was the right decision
He said: ‘I’ll probably find out tonight or tomorrow whether that was the right move. But I was so close to the finish line there, I probably should have made the volley. It feels alright just now, but let’s see in a few hours.
‘It felt like we were playing really good tennis, I’m not sure what it looked like. He was serving unbelievable, he was serving brilliantly and he is one of the best competitors on the tour. I did well to get through. I had a couple of break points early in the first set and didn’t get them.
‘The momentum changed after that. I made a couple of little tweaks right at the end of the fifth set, maybe I could have changed things earlier. I’ll be feeling this, this evening and tomorrow. But right now I am unbelievably happy and very proud of myself.
The Scot, 35, beat Matteo Berrettini in an Australian Open first-round five-set epic on Tuesday
‘I’ve put a lot of work into the last few months with my team to give me the opportunity to perform on stadiums like this and in matches like this. It paid off tonight.’
The 2021 Wimbledon finalist Berrettini was the superior player for the last three sets, but Murray held his nerve in the sudden death ‘Champions’ tiebreak to take it 10-6. He will play Fabio Fognini or Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
This was Murray’s best performance at a Grand Slam since the onset of his hip problems and he now has a piece of metal in the affected area. He was always ahead in the tie-break, racing into a 5-0 lead before being pegged back but eventually getting over the line.
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