- Andy Murray put in a brilliant performance to beat Alexei Popyrin at Queen’s
- The Scot scored his 1,000th Test victory on Tuesday afternoon.
- Murray has previously hinted at his possible retirement from tennis after Wimbledon.
Andy Murray’s summer is finally alive. The 37-year-old beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 at the Cinch Championship to record his first victory on Tour since he tore ankle ligaments in Miami in March.
It was Murray’s 1,000th match on Tour and came exactly 7,000 days after his first. It seemed entirely appropriate for the Scot to mention such a milestone here at the Queen’s Club. His first ATP victory came here in 2005 and he has won the title five times, plus a memorable hip-lifting doubles title with Feliciano López in 2019. This was his 16th visit, equaling Lleyton Hewitt’s record .
Murray is part of the furniture here. A huge sign of his welcomes spectators to the venue and the stands bear the brand of Castore, the sportswear company in which he is a shareholder.
Know all the nuances of this court; where to put the ball to get out of trouble and get the opponent’s ball into it.
In his post-hip surgery incarnation, Murray has at times seemed powerless and prone to hitting the ball too short. This is much less problematic on grass; in fact, a short, slippery ball can often be the most difficult to handle, especially for a tall man like Popyrin.
Andy Murray recorded his first victory at tour level since March after beating Australian Alexei Popyrin on Tuesday.
Murray beat Popyrin (pictured) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the cinch championship at The Queen’s Club.
It was Murray’s 1,000th match on Tour and came exactly 7,000 days after his first.
Murray has always loved playing against big players, especially on grass. But Popyrin, 24, won a couple of matches here to advance and has a great serve; This was certainly a potentially tough first round.
At 3-4, he played a classic Murray return game: putting the ball back into play by hook or by crook and then outmaneuvering from there, finally committing a big double fault on break point as Popyrin tried avoid another painful play.
After the second set, the DJ (what an incongruous figure he cut dancing among the wealthy socialites) played a remix of I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers, Murray’s compatriots.
If that Scottish anthem was intended to inspire Murray, it failed.
Popyrin landed some hard-hitting blows in the second set and showed a greater willingness to get into the net; It was with a skillful volley that sealed the early break.
Tuesday’s victory was a bright moment for Murray after he tore ankle ligaments in Miami in March.
Murray put in a brilliant performance against one of the best servers in men’s tennis.
Big servers like him are great leaders on grass and he had no problems closing the set.
But when Popyrin served for the first time in the second set, Murray played an excellent breaking game, sealing it with a backhand shot off a sliding slice and then a two-handed pass.
From there he stood his ground to set up a second-round matchup with another Australian: Jordan Thompson.
Earlier in the day, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz extended his grass-court winning streak to 13 matches, saving three second-set points to beat close friend Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5.