Andy Murray said the demands of reaching 995 matches on the ATP Tour have taken their toll after recording an impressive win over world number 30 Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach the third round of the Miami Open.
Former world number one Murray lost five of his first seven matches of 2024 but has doubled his victories tally for the year in Florida, where he won all seven points in a first-set tie-break and took the second 6-3 against Etcheverry.
“My body feels that,” Murray told the Tennis Channel upon being informed that he is five contests away from 1,000 on the tour.
“I’ve been on the tour a long time. My first matches on the tour were just as I turned 18. I’m 37 in May.
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“It’s been a long but amazing career. I’ve been unbelievably lucky to play at the highest level for such a long time.
“I had a tough loss against Tomas at the Australian Open, when I was quite flat. I wanted to come out and make sure that, even if I lost, I went out with the right energy on the court, getting involved with the crowd and creating a great atmosphere.
“I played some good tennis at the end. It was tough out there and I did well to get through.”
Andy Murray next match: Machac awaits
Murray hinted at the start of the year that this could be his last on the tour and faced criticism for the performances which immediately followed.
Now ranked 62nd, his next match will be against 23-year-old Czech player Tomas Machac, who is two places above him and beat world number six Andrey Rublev.
Watching Alcaraz play tennis makes me smile 😊❤️
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) March 24, 2024
“Hopefully, I can reach 1,000 matches with wins,” said Murray. “I don’t want my last five or six matches to get there to be losses. It would be nice to get some wins along the way.
The Scot was clearly pleased to see top seed Carlos Alcaraz progress with a win over fellow Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in which the world number two lost only three games.
“Watching Alcaraz play tennis makes me smile,” Murray posted on X, formerly Twitter. Alcaraz replied with prayer and heart emojis, adding: “Andy – thanks man.”
