Late rally helps Murray survive Safiullin in Basel

With his fate hanging in he balance in Basel, Andy Murray did what he has done all season: battled ferociously.

The 35-year-old Scot rallied from a set down – and 4-1 down in the third – to defeat Roman Safiullin 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday at the Swiss Indoors Basel.

The victory marked Murray first appearance at the event since he advanced the quarter-finals as an 18-year-old wild card in 2005.

Ranked 49 in a season that has seen him reach two ATP finals and return to the top-50 for the first time since 2018, Murray notched his 26th win of 2022 – the most he has achieved in a single season since 2016, the year he finished No 1.

Murray, forced into a corner by hard-serving Safiullin (ranked 93), took the scenic route to victory. After taking the middle set to force a decider, he was broken in the fourth game of the final set, and fell behind 4-1 a game later, but never wavered.

Murray – Safiullin was “serving huge”

“He was serving huge and any opportunity he was hitting the ball huge from the back of the court,” Murray said after the win. “As the match went on, I started to dictate a few more points and served better. I changed the way I was returning a little bit and when I did that I was able to create a few more opportunities and frustrate him a little bit.”

A window opened when Safiullin tried an ill-advised underarm serve while facing a break point at 2-4 – the Russian bricked a volley and handed Murray the gift he needed at the end of the point, and Murray did the rest, winning the final four games to clinch the victory and bring the packed house at the St. Jakobshalle to its feet.

Murray will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round at Basel.

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