Andy Murray was at it again, involved in a thrilling game, like all his recent matches have been. The former World No.1 faced off against American youngster, Frances Tiafoe in a long and exciting match that was only 15 minutes short of four hours.
The 3-time grand slam winner had the better of his opponent, but it wasn’t that easy as he (Murray) needed three sets to proceed to the round of sixteen in Antwerp.
Coming back from saved the last couple match points to edge out his opponent 7-6 (2), 6-7 (7), 7-6 (8), a score rarely seen in men’s tennis these days.
But the winning margin or play time wasn’t the only rarity. Once the exiting match was done and dusted, the two opponents shared quite a warm embrace before heading to the lockerroom.
Speaking later, Murray admitted that he hadn’t experienced most of what he did yesterday in previous matches. “I don’t think I have ever played a match like that,” admitted the Briton, revealing that he had played long matches before, but this won by far.
Andy went ahead to state that though he had had locker room chats with opponents in the past, they were brief and specifically about the game. But with Tiafoe, the 34-year old said it was unforgettable, and not just about the match.
“In the locker room, we had a much more in-depth chat about tennis, not so much the match,” he stated. The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon grand slam winner admitted he would remember that rare occurrence. “I’ll probably remember that…That was kind of rare I would say.”
After the win, the current World No. 172 will face off against Argentine 2nd seed, Diego Shwartzman in the round of 16 tomorrow.
