By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday January 18, 2022
He’s the feel good story that just won’t quit, and the gift that keeps on giving.
34-year-old Andy Murray – he of the metal hip – rallied for a five-set victory over Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili to earn his first Australian Open victory since 2017 and book a second-round match with Japan’s Taro Daniel.
It has been a long time coming for Murray, who has been toiling outside the ATP’s Top-100 since the Monday after Roland-Garros in 2018. Nearly four years later, with a surgically resurfaced right hip, the Scot is finally making the type of traction he aims to make, and he is likely to return to the Top-100 on the Monday after the Australian Open.
But before that Murray, who needed three hours and 52 minutes to get by the 21st-seeded Basilashvili, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, would like to rack up a few more victories in Melbourne. It’s certainly not out of the question, with Taro, a player who has never been past the second round in his 19 previous Grand Slam main draw appearances, looming.
After that things could get far more complicated as No.11-seeded Jannik Sinner is Murray’s likely third-round opponent, and the Italian looks like the man to beat in that section.
For now, Murray can relish his remarkable turnaround. In 2019, the same man appeared before the media, downtrodden as can be, as he announced to the world that he planned to retire. He'd been playing pain for as long as he could remember, and could no longer see a way through to the other side.
“I spoke to my team, and I told them, ‘I cannot keep doing this,’” Murray said in an emotional news conference in Melbourne. “I needed to have an end point because I was sort of playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop. I felt like making that decision.”
A lot has changed since then. A successful hip resurfacing (his second hip surgery) gave him the hope he needed to carry on; since then the Scot has been a picture of inspiration, slowly but surely working his way back to competitive form, all while weathering plenty of setbacks along the way.
If his play has not been consistent, his attitude has. The closer Murray gets to where he wants to be, the more he seems to appreciate the opportunity to play at the highest level one more time. No time table is set, no specific ranking number is mentioned, but one gets the feeling that Murray, now unencumbered physically, believes there is a lot more progress to be made.
He’ll continue his quest with that in mind, and with legions of well-earned tennis fans, some that have been with him all the while, and others who are new to the bandwagon, seduced by Murray’s undeniable pure passion for the sport. It goes a long way for all who pay attention – Murray has been the perfect inspiration, role model and comeback story all wrapped into one over the last several seasons.
In an Australian Open that has been shrouded in the black cloud of l’affaire Djokovic, Murray’s victory parts the clouds a bit and lets the sun shine in.
That’s something we can all get behind.