(SATSports) – Two time Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray made an emotional comeback on center court as he fought past Nikoloz Basilashvili in four gruesome sets.
Murray, the 2013 and 2016 champion had not played at the championships since 2017, fighting hip and groin injuries the past few years, stating that it has been extremely tough for him after a 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over the 24th seeded Georgian.
The former world number 1 only had two tour level match wins going into the match, but he seemed in fine form as he fired 3 aces in his first game, backed with consistency through the first set which he claimed off Basilashvili’s serve in the 10th game.
The second set was on serve until the eight game when Murray broke serve again to claim a 5-3 lead, thanks to expertise in shot selection which made a euphoric center court crowd go wild. He went on to serve for the second set.
The world number 28, Basilashvili couldn’t find an answer to Murray’s top level in the third set, starting off with a back to back love loss of hiss serve. Many would say they saw the rebirth of the British player who cruised to a 5-0 lead, firing big groundstrokes and cheeky dropshots as he looked to seal the deal in straight sets.
However, the former world number 16 found his finest tennis at 5-0 down, breaking a nervy Murray to register his first game of the set, a little too late as one of the commentators just like everyone else thought but it was the beginning of an unexpected turn of events.
Murray couldn’t convert two match points, which boosted his opponent’s confidence as he continued firing his way back into the set, winning 7 games in a row to kind of silence the home crowd who was watching in agitation as their favorite seemed to be crumbling in crunch time. The Georgian forced a fourth set, which was delayed as the roof was getting closed due to rain.
The fifth set was quite a rollercoaster with back to back breaks of serve by both players and Murray would break again as he looked to have composed himself after such a dramatic third set. He would go on to register a win on his first match since his loss to Sam Querrey in 2017 in fine fashion as he converted his fourth match point.
“Basilashvili is ranked 28 in the world and I beat him,” said Murray after his win, citing that he can still compete at the highest level and he intends to keep on playing because he enjoys it. Up next for the former British number is either Germany’s Oscar Otte or Arthur Rinderknech of France.
