As Andy Murray continued his arduous, ruthless path to greatness fourteen years ago, he found himself staring down Marin Cilic for a place in the 2010 Australian Open final. While Murray was only 22 years old at the time, Cilic was even younger and less experienced . After a nerveless start from the Croatian, Murray methodically reeled in his challenger to reach his first of five Melbourne finals in seven years.
On Wednesday, the pair resumed their decades-long rivalry under less intense circumstances at the Kooyong Classic on the city’s outskirts. Now aged 36 and 35 respectively, both players grand slam champions, they are in the twilight of their careers and desperately trying to hold on. While Murray continues to battle the odds following career-altering hip injuries, Cilic returns after knee surgery in January.
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Their practice match in Kooyong, held at the handsome club that previously hosted the Australian Open, ended with a 6-3, 7-5 win for Cilic as his much more consistent serve and clean, unrelenting aggression from the baseline saw him win the yielded victory. Two poor service games from Murray, one in each set, proved the difference between the pair. Murray then shrugged nonchalantly about the outcome as their preparations continued.
“It was OK,” Murray said afterwards. “I didn’t serve very well in the beginning of the match, but got better as the match went on and got a few chances and the second set. I didn’t get them, but of course it’s always good to play some matches and it’s always a bit different than playing practice sets.”
For Murray, the first few months of the season will be important after his dismal end to 2023. In his final match of the season, he led Alex de Minaur 5-2 in the third set at the Paris Masters, reaching match point on his serve before his lead crumbled to dust. Murray ended the season with five defeats in his last six games and he admitted he was not having a good time.
But to his credit, Murray responded immediately. This has been a difficult off-season for the Scot as he dealt with a shoulder injury that forced him to end his season before the Davis Cup, a knee injury and illness before his December training block in Dubai. Still, Murray was motivated enough to come to work every day. He was always present at the National Tennis Center, looking for ways to improve. He identified his first serve in particular as a weakness, with the stroke not giving him enough free points and easy second balls. Even though his physical limitations prevented him from training at full intensity during the offseason, Murray worked hard to find solutions.
“When I put myself in situations like that, it’s always been one of the better aspects of my game,” Murray said of the difficulties he had closing out games last year. “I’ve never had a problem with that in my career, and last year I felt that because I wasn’t serving well, I didn’t get many free points when serving for matches, which put me in long rallies. I just don’t feel comfortable on the field. So hopefully, with a little better serve and a little better feeling about my game, I’ll be fine when I put myself in those situations.”
But the reality for Murray is clear. If he can make further progress with his game, he can stay motivated to keep pushing himself to the limit. However, if his 2023 form continues, serious questions will arise about his future and whether his career will continue beyond this year. With the opportunity to compete in one final Olympics this year, 2024 offers the two-time gold medalist a clear chance to end his career and finally move on. For the time being, he continues to hope that this will not be necessary.
“I hope I do better than last year,” Murray said. “Last year I didn’t feel like I was playing well. I definitely lost some games that I could have won and I know I made improvements in the off-season and I want to put that on the field because when I do that… I pushed a lot of guys like De Minaur, had exciting matches with Fritz, Tsitsipas… Last year I didn’t feel good on the pitch at all, so hopefully with a few improvements and a little bit better feeling I can definitely challenge the top players.”
Dan Evans was beaten in the last 16 of the Adelaide International when Alexander Bublik came from behind to beat the British number 2.
After starting well to claim the first set, Evans was then broken and went 4-2 down in the second and could only secure one of the games that followed as Bublik of Kazakhstan to a 4-6, 6- 2, 6-1 up. to win.
Evans, who returned to this tournament after his 2023 campaign was ended prematurely by a calf injury, had defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata in straight sets in the previous round. The 33-year-old will be knocked out of a grand slam for the first time since 2019 at the Australian Open, with the draw taking place in Melbourne on Thursday.
British number 4 Jack Draper is through to the quarter-finals of the tournament after saving two match points in a comeback win over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
Draper will face American Tommy Paul in the last eight after bouncing back from a set down to complete a marathon 5-7, 7-6 (9), 7-6 (7) victory in three hours and 39 minutes.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu continued to exercise considerable caution in her recovery from an eight-month injury layoff as she withdrew from her practice match at the Kooyong Classic. Raducanu was due to face teenager Mirra Andreeva in Kooyong on Thursday before withdrawing. The 21-year-old was also scheduled to play Naomi Osaka in a charity match at the Australian Open on Tuesday before both players opted to withdraw, with Raducanu citing pain on the morning of the scheduled match.
Jack Draper continued his positive start to the year as he survived an excruciating encounter with Miomir Kecmanovic in Adelaide, saving two match points to beat Kechmanovic 5-7, 7-6 (11), 7-6 (7) and to reach the quarter-finals. finals.