Andy Murray battled with everything he had for three hours and twenty-eight minutes—even when he had nothing at all. He first played a magnificent opening set against the skilled Tomas Machac, but he was unable to finish it out. Then, just when it appeared that Murray was losing the match, he pulled off a stunning comeback. Murray injured his left ankle in the crucial last seconds of the match, but he continued to fight despite it.
The Scot continued to show his heart and resiliency in these final months of one of the greatest careers of our century, but it was still insufficient. After losing to Machac in the third round of the Miami Open 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5), he hobbled out on Sunday..
Murray was playing so well and gave himself a chance for a good outcome in one of the most significant cities of his career, so the defeat alone was agonizing, but he left having experienced the worst situation. The grass-court season is just a few months away, therefore he must now tend to an injury. Murray has played his best tennis of the year in Miami following a very challenging year in which simple victories have been unable to come by for the first time. After defeating both Matteo Berttini and Tomás Martín, Murray, Etcheverry, had triumphed in back-to-back games for the first time since August. It was his first time winning three matches at a Masters 1000 level or higher since Wimbledon 2017.
A talented 23-year-old Czech ranked No 62, Machac has been gradually rising up the rankings and on Friday he pulled off a career-best win, defeating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4 for his first top-10 win.
Throughout an excellent first set, Murray served brilliantly, allowing himself easier points and the opportunity to put sustained pressure on his opponent’s serve. He generated nine break points throughout the first set, facing none, before finally breaking Machac’s serve. He finished the set with eight aces and supreme 86% of first-serve points won.
A 35-minute rain delay forced the players off the court at 2-1 to Machac in the second set, and they returned to a different match. While the Czech attacked relentlessly throughout the second set, closing down the net at every opportunity and holding serve easily, Murray came under increasing pressure on his serve. He landed just 46% of first serves in set two, allowing Machac too many looks at his second serve, who pounced.
Murray ended the set ranting at the umpire, Carlos Bernardes, enraged after the pair disagreed about whether fans in the crowd were moving during play. Most of all, he was angry at himself. He could not shake the negative momentum at the beginning of the final set, as Machac moved up 3-0 in the blink of an eye.
Still, he fought desperately until the end and, after generating three break points as Machac served out the match at 5-3, the Briton dragged the match back on to serve. Just as Murray held serve to level the match at 5-5, though, he landed awkwardly on his left ankle and immediately pulled up in pain. Murray hobbled to his chair and he was seen by the physio but he opted against his ankle being taped.
He may have been moving at half-speed until the end of the match, but Murray refused to give in. He saved match points on his serve while constantly calling on the crowd to carry him through. After holding serve to force a final set tie-break, he somehow dragged himself to a 5-4 lead. It was still not enough; Machac steadied himself and rolled through the final three points to close out an unforgettable match.
In her first full tournament since turning 20, Coco Gauff continued to show her consistency and problem solving abilities as she recovered from 2-4, break point down before reeling off 10 games in a row to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Océane Dodin of France. During the early hours of Sunday morning, Katie Boulter dismantled Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 11th seed, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.