Angry Andy loses in three set thriller

Andy Murray suffered a third set ankle injury and a dramatic third round defeat 7-5, 5-7, 6-7 (5) to Tomas Machac in the Miami Open.

The former World No. 1 had been showing signs of his best form following a slow start to 2024, which is expected to be his swansong season.

In a solid first set Murray secured his ninth break point to lead 6-5 and then served out to love.

The match had a thirty minute rain delay in the second set with Murray becoming increasingly agitated by crowd movement during his serve and snapped at umpire Carlos Bernardes.

At one point as he returned to his seat he shouted “Hold grudges! Awful decision!” before the umpire  asked him what he was  talking about.

A  furious Murray roared: “What are YOU talking about? It’s quite obvious when people are standing up between every single serve!”

Machac  broke Murray for the first time in the match at 6-5 in the second to level the match.

In the third set the 23-year-old Czech was broken when serving for the match at 5-3.

36-year-old Murray went to ground at the net with an ankle injury  and needed treatment from the physio after hitting a winner to level things up at 5-5 and took the match into a tiebreak.

The Scot led 5-4 in the breaker but Machac recovered his composure just in time, winning three points in a row to secure victory in three and a half hours.

Roger Parker

Recent Posts

Nadal goes down in final match

Rafael Nadal lined up for what was to be the final match of his career…

2 days ago

Sinner flattens de Minaur in runaway home start

Jannik Sinner took charge in front of his home crowd on Sunday, crushing ATP Finals…

2 weeks ago

Madcap Medvedev suffers temperamental Turin Finals loss

Daniil Medvedev went into meltdown mode on Sunday during a highly charged 6-4, 6-3 loss, with opponent…

2 weeks ago

Team Sinner considering skipping Monte Carlo

Jannik Sinner could well be missing from the opening European clay event of next season…

2 weeks ago

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

1 month ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

1 month ago