Andy Murray beat rising Czech star Jiri Lehecka 6-0 3-6 7-6 to reach the Qatar Open final having saved FIVE match points to win another marathon epic
- Andy Murray saved five match points to reach the Qatar Open final
- The Brit endured another marathon contest to win 6-0 3-6 7-6
- All six of Murray’s wins this calendar year have come in deciding sets
Andy Murray saved five match points in another marathon encounter to somehow reach the Qatar Open final.
The two-time Wimbledon champion went the distance again – all six of his wins this year have come in deciding sets – in a stunning 6-0 3-6 7-6 (8-6) victory over rising Czech star Jiri Lehecka.
Serving at 5-3 in the decider, Murray had to save two match points before Leheka went 40-0 up on his own serve in the next game.
What happened next was hardly believable, even by Murray’s standards, as he fended off all three match points to level the set at 5-5, before beating a shell-shocked Lehecka in the tiebreak.
“I don’t know, that was one of the most amazing upsets I’ve had in my career,” the 35-year-old Scotsman told Amazon Prime.
Andy Murray saves five points to reach Qatar Open final after coming through another marathon saga
All six of the Briton’s wins this year have come in matches that have gone the distance in sets
“I knew it was his first time serving for a final so I had to keep the pressure on because I know how hard it can be to serve out matches like that, but I have no idea how I managed to turn it around.”
Murray, a two-time winner in Doha, has now reached the final a record five times.
“This tournament had a lot of great players. (Roger) Federer, (Andy) Roddick, (Rafael) Nadal and Novak (Djokovic), he added. “These guys have obviously accomplished a lot more than me, so that’s maybe a small victory I can have over them.”
Murray played 12 sets this week, on the back of his two brutal Australian Open two-sets, and spent another two and a half hours on court outplaying the 21-year-old Leheka.
Rising Czech star Jiri Lehecka looked on in amazement as Murray saved point after game.
“I feel good just now, although obviously the adrenaline kicks in after a race like this,” he said.
“I’m sure there will be a bit of fatigue tomorrow, but I have a great team behind me. My doctor has a job on his hands tonight.’
Murray will face either Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in what will be his first final since Stuttgart last June.
If he wins, it will mean a first title since winning in Antwerp in October 2019 and a second since his career-saving hip operation.