the times | Wednesday January 19 2022 67
Sport
position where I can do better in these
matches and just keep improving
my game. I really feel that everything is
going in the right direction, so that’s
something to be really positive about.”yourself to recover as best you can,”
Murray said. “It’s harder to recover
physically as you get older, but in many
ways the set-up of grand-slams is a bit
easier on the body. Potentially you get
48 hours off. Yes, the five-setters are
hard, but having that extra day is
important.”
If the tank is running low, Murray
need only think of those who have
written him off over the past three
years. He has long had a habit of using
criticism to fire himself up.
“In the past 18 months, there have
been a number of people saying I
wouldn’t be able to compete to win
tournaments,” Murray said. “Although
the results have maybe not been how I
wanted, I’ve beaten some bloody goodplayers. I’m still out there beating guys
who are [ranked] in the twenties in the
world in five sets in slams.
“A lot of those people, they don’t see
what it is you do on a daily basis. They
don’t see how much you want to win
and just make throwaway comments. If
someone suggests I won’t be able to do
something, I use that as motivation.”
Murray’s efforts against Basilashvili
yesterday were greatly appreciated by
the crowd of about 5,000 people,
although some television viewers were
left confused when it sounded as
though some were booing him. It was,
in fact, a group of young spectators
mimicking the trademark “Siu”
celebration of the Manchester United
footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It was incredibly irritating,” Murray
said with a wry smile.
Dan Evans, 31, continued his strong
start to the season by joining Murray in
the second round. The British No 2
picked up his sixth win in seven
matches, defeating Belgium’s David
Goffin 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 as he reaps the
rewards of a laid-back approach to the
truncated off-season period of only
four weeks. “I wasn’t too hard on myself
in pre-season,” Evans, the No 24 seed,
said. “There is no point in going after it
in the gym when I didn’t have too long
to go. I’ve just carried on doing what I
was doing at the end of last year. It was
a long year. Seems it’s been the right
decision. I have played some good
tennis already.”His long road back to victory
Jan 2019 Murray effectively retires
at the Australian Open and then
undergoes hip resurfacing surgery.
June 23, 2019 Wins the doubles title
at Queen’s with Feliciano López.
Aug 12, 2019 Back on the singles
court for the first time, loses 6-4, 6-4
to Richard Gasquet in Cincinatti.
Oct 20, 2019 Claims first singles title
since surgery, beating Stan
Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Antwerp.
Sept 1, 2020 Makes winning return
to grand-slam action at the US Open
against Yoshihito Nishioka.
Jan 22, 2021 Tests positive for Covid,
withdraws from Australian Open.
June 28, 2021 Wins first singles
match at Wimbledon since 2017.
Jan 18, 2022 Wins an epic five-set
battle against Nikoloz Basilashvili.The fired-up Murray is using “throwaway comments” as motivational rocket fuelonline this morning
Read Stuart Fraser on the best of the
overnight action from Australia
thetimes.co.ukThree years after Andy Murray
received farewell video messages
from stars such as Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal on the large screens at
Melbourne Park, the 34-year-old
returned with a metal hip and produced
another achievement of note in this
extraordinary comeback story.
Not for the first time, Murray dug
deep into his physical and mental
reserves over the course of five sets in
almost four hours, seeing off the No 21
seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-1, 3-6, 6-4,
6-7 (5-7), 6-4 in a captivating Australian
Open first-round match. The victory is
his best by ranking at a grand-slam
tournament since defeating Kei
Nishikori, the world No 9 at the time, in
the quarter-finals of the 2017 French
Open, shortly before his right hip
descended into a debilitating state.
Murray’s implant was given a thor-
ough test in the John Cain Arena, the
same stadium at which he had seem-
ingly retired in 2019. Basilashvili, 29, is
the most powerful ball-striker off both
sides on the tour, ranking No 1 last year
with an average shot speed of 82mph on
his forehand and 79mph on his
backhand. Murray was repeatedly
forced to dash quickly from side to side
behind the baseline to try to counter the
ferocious groundstrokes coming his
way.
No wonder a mixture of exhaustion,
emotion and relief overcame Murray
afterwards as he buried his head in a
towel on the courtside chair. The
rehabilitation process after his resur-
facing operation was painstaking and
there were occasions in which even he,
a renowned workhorse, doubted
whether he could continue. But on the
evidence of the past week, after
finishing runner-up at the Sydney
Classic and now knocking out a seed at
the first hurdle in Melbourne, the world
No 113 believes he still has much to
offer.
“I was really nervous and didn’t sleep
great last night,” Murray said. “I still
come here with high expectations of
myself. I don’t want to show up at these
tournaments and feel no pressure, or
not feel as if I can do well and have a
good run. I feel I’m playing well enough
to make it tough for a lot of players in
the draw.
“Who knows? With a couple of good
wins, things could open up. I saw
Casper Ruud [the No 8 seed] withdrew.
And with what happened with Novak
[Djokovic], those sorts of things
can happen at these tournaments
nowadays. The consistency of the top
guys is not what it was. There are going
to be opportunities and hopefully I’ll be
able to capitalise on one of them.”
The key for Murray at this stage of his
career is recovery. While he should be
confident of getting past Taro Daniel,
the world No 120 from Japan, in the
second round tomorrow, contesting a
five-set match so early in the tourna-
ment is not so helpful in terms of
conserving energy for the challenges
to come.
“You get a day’s rest and you need to
use that wisely in the right way to allowStuart Fraserwhile burning midnight oil
Women
*H Dart lost to (7) I Swiatek (Pol) 6-3, 6-0.
E Raducanu bt S Stephens (US) 6-0,
2-6, 6-1. Second-round opponent:
D Kovinic (Montenegro).
H Watson bt M Sherif (Egypt) 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
Opponent: (29) T Zidansek (Slovenia).
Men
*L Broady lost to N Kyrgios (Aus) 6-4,
6-4, 6-3.
(24) D Evans bt D Goffin (Bel) 6-4, 6-3,
6-0. Opponent: A Rinderknech (Fr).
A Murray bt (21) N Basilashvili (Geo)
6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (7-5), 6-4. Opponent:
*T Daniel (Japan).
(12) C Norrie lost to S Korda (US) 6-3,
6-0, 6-4.
*Denotes qualifier. Matches to be played
in the early hours of tomorrow morningHow the Brits fared
CLIVE BRUNSKILL/GETTY IMAGESPlenty of life left in fired-up
Murray as he eyes open draw
A Murray (GB) 636656
N Basilashvili (Geo, No 21) 164774JAMES GOURLEY/REUTERSto have a few matches before you get
that opportunity. But you do find where
your level is at straight away against
such a big opponent.
“Hopefully I can put myself in a
to stop Djokovic playing
As Djokovic was landing in Serbia
yesterday morning, to be greeted in the
airport by his brother Djordje, Tennis
Australia released a statement.
“As the Australian tennis family, we
recognise that recent events have been
a significant distraction for everyone,
and we deeply regret the impact this
had on all players,” it read. “There are
always lessons to learn, and we will
review all aspects of our preparation
and implementation to inform our
planning — as we do every year.
“We, like the players, and all tennis
fans here and around the world, are
keen for the focus to now be on the
game we are all so passionate about. We
are looking forward to a brilliant two
weeks of tennis ahead.”ing that Djokovic will not be able to play
there for as long as he is unvaccinated.
The 34-year-old regularly travels to
Spain and owns a house in Marbella. He
spent a few days there in late December
and early January and video footage
showed him training there.
“What Mr Djokovic has to do is get
vaccinated, that would be the most
sensible thing to do,” Isabel Rodriguez,
a government spokesperson told a
news conference yesterday when asked
whether Djokovic would be allowed to
compete in Spain.
There is an ATP 500 tournament in
Barcelona in April, while the more
prestigious Madrid Open, which Djok-
ovic has won three times, most recently
in 2019, begins on April 26.
After winning the first
set in only 17 minutes,
Raducanu is stretched
by Stephens and taken
to a third set at a grand
slam for the first time