Daily Times

MELBOURNE: A vintage Andy Murray weathered a gallant fightback from Matteo Berrettini before dumping the 13th-seeded Italian out of the Australian Open first round with an epic 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-7(7) 7-6 (10-6) win on Tuesday. With the crowd largely in the palm of his hand, the 35-year-old Scot raced out of the blocks to take the first two sets under the roof at Rod Laver Arena only to fall, almost inevitably, into a long, attritional scrap. A five-times runner-up in the tournament but never the winner, little has come easy for Murray at Melbourne Park, and so it proved again as Berrettini emerged from a long off-court break between sets ready to level the match. Murray’s determination never wavered, though, and after saving a match point, he held his nerve in the deciding 10-point tiebreak, closing out the contest with incredible fortune with a bunted forehand return that caught the net and left Berrettini no chance. Murray will play the winner of Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis and Italian veteran Fabio Fognini for a place in the third round.