Bautista Agut

Roberto Bautista Agut defeats Andy Murray in four sets at the Australian Open on Saturday.

1 was unable to maintain the same intensity levels as the match went on. I am happy with how I handled the nerves and tension through the match, to play good tennis. He rallied from a break down in the second set, saving two set points to dramatically level. I am competing well and I am doing everything I can off court to make sure I play good matches. The 24th seed struck his flat groundstrokes with consistency, limiting errors off both wings to frustrate Murray. In 2019, the pair met on Margaret Court Arena for an emotional encounter, with Murray losing what he feared would be the final match of his career.

Andy Murray produced an astonishing, thrilling last stand that encapsulated all that he is about, but it was not enough.

On stealing the set, Murray stared out at his audience with his hands on his hips, his face a picture of utter disbelief as he received a standing ovation. Despite his lower-back complaints, Murray believes he will be fine with a short period of rest. Once the dust settles after a difficult ending, there will be even more positives for the former world No 1 to take from his run. But Bautista Agut regained his composure and reverted to type, interrogating Murray’s movement and shot tolerance. When he clinched his first game at 1-3, he vigorously pumped his fist to the roaring crowd. “He knows well how to play a Grand Slam match,” said Bautista Agut. One of the fascinating spectacles in tennis is the mental stress that an injured or physically compromised player can cause to an opponent. I couldn’t really sort of extend my back on the serve to generate much power on the first serve.” The Spaniard then broke serve for a 6-1, 2-1 lead after Murray’s legs crumpled on a second serve, leading to a double fault. Between his unforgettable five-set wins over Matteo Berrettini, the 13th seed, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, he had been on court for 10 hours and 34 minutes. He started his third-round match a shadow of himself, barely even able to move, but then he loosened up. You can control the effort that you put into it, and I gave everything that I had the last three matches.”

Andy Murray threatened another miracle on Margaret Court Arena but fell to a four-set defeat against Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round of the ...

"I think it's important that the best players can get out there and represent your country. But I won the last one now. "It was just a nice and fun moment between us," added Rublev. Rublev smiled when asked about it in his post-match interview, saying: "He helped me with some energy for sure. "He knows very well how to play a Grand Slam match. "They only brought two, so I donated (one) so he could have one."

Andy Murray's brave Australian Open run ground to a halt against Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spaniard fending off the fatigued former world number one 6-1 ...

"That was affecting my serve and that was really the main thing today." He leaves Melbourne Park without an injury and confident of being ready for his next stop in Rotterdam. but I was struggling with my lower back," Murray told reporters. "I felt good about the way that I was playing," he said. "But, yeah, I'm also disappointed because I put loads of work into the beginning of this year and was playing well enough to have a really good run, have a deep run. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story