Sensational Murray Defeats Stan in Antwerp
Andy Murray is refusing to leave the spotlight just yet. Murray produced an incredible comeback to defeat 3-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka 3-6 6-4 6-4 to claim his first ATP title since his career saving hip surgery in January.
Murray was 6-3 3-1 down against Wawrinka and looked unable to deal with the Swiss’s shot making, watching winner after winner fly past him as Wawrinka crushed the ball with intense purpose. However, Murray was able to turn things around using his trademark defensive skills, pushing Wawrinka to play one more ball every time and drawing some more errors. Murray managed to see off crucial break point chances at 4-4 in the second set, before sneaking a break at 4-5 to force a decider. The final set was tight, with Wawrinka once again managing to carve out break point opportunities at 4-4. However, Murray held firm once again, forcing Wawrinka to serve to stay in the match. Wawrinka couldn’t do so, missing a forehand wide to give Murray one of the biggest wins of his career post-surgery.
“Stan is a brilliant player. He’s won many, many big tournaments. He always plays extremely well in the big matches,” said Murray. “We know each other’s games well. We played many tough matches in the past. I expected another one today and that was what I got.” “This is one of the biggest wins that I’ve had after everything”
Murray will now take a well-deserved break and is unlikely to play again this year apart from the Davis Cup in November. His ranking will skyrocket 116 places to just outside the Top 100 at 127, looking much healthier than his ranking outside the Top 500 just before the US Open. Wawrinka, despite not claiming the title, can be pleased with a good week’s work, moving to 15th in the Race to London, just about keeping himself in contention with London qualification if he can produce a good performance in Basel and Paris.
Written by Emre Saridogan