Andy Murray dug into his reserves to pull off a fighting 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Wednesday and move into the ATP Qatar quarter-finals.
The Scot stood two points from defeat in the final set but nullified his opponent’s winning chances with a stirring break in the penultimate game.
The three-time Grand Slam winner calmly served out the three-hour win moments later to advance into a Thursday match with 170th-ranked French qualifier Alexandre Muller.
“I’d like to win quicker, but Zverev is a top player,” Murray said after his second win this season over a Top 20 opponent.
“He’s a great competitor and fights to the end.
“Once I won the first set he kept going for his shots. In the third I was just hanging in there,
“But I stayed strong and kept fighting. I got the break in the end and closed it out well,” the No. 70 said.
Murray and Zverev needed an hour and a quarter to get through the opening set, with Murray twice coming from a break down and winning nine of 10 points to earn a 6-5 lead.
But it took a tiebreaker and a third set point for the Scot to finally take the lead, with his German opponent sending a return wide.
Zverev, who missed the second half of last season with an ankle injury, bounced straight back to dominate the second set and square the match at one apiece after two hours of battle.
Main photo:- Andy Murray winning in Doha – by ATPTour.com
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