Andy Murray battled Alexander Zverev every step of the way but was ultimately unable to overcome the German third seed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, falling 6-4 7-6 (4).
The Scottish former world number one began the third round clash in fine form, racing away to an early break before Zverev was able to settle into his rhythm and narrowly take the first set.
The second set began in similar fashion, with Murray again going up a break before allowing Zverev back into the match.
Murray made the most of some uncharacteristic mistakes from Zverev to force a tiebreak, but the 2020 US Open finalist was able to win the crucial points down the stretch to make it through to the fourth round.
Zverev paid tribute to Murrayās performance in his on-court interview after the match.
āHeās the only one of the Big Four that I hadnāt beaten yet, so Iām happy that Iāve done it today,ā he said.
āI always stayed in the match, even though I was down a break in both sets. I always knew I had a chance. Especially the second set I think was an extremely high level from both of us. It could have gone both ways.
āObviously it was a fantastic match. I thought Andy played extremely well, maybe as well as heās played since the (hip) surgery. I hope he continues playing the same way, because tennis did miss him for a long time and I think itās good to have him back.ā
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.Ā
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience forĀ our loyalĀ readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.Ā
That is invaluable.Ā
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalistās job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readersā comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readersā comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the āreport this postā link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel