Andy Murray says he is satisfied with his comeback victory over Spanish rising star Carlos Alcaraz but admits it was far from the best performance of his career.
The former world No.1 rallied back from a set down prevail 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, over the teenager who recently reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. Alcaraz was playing in his first tournament since New York after being sidelined from action due to injury. During the second round match Murray saved eight out of the 10 break points he faced and won 62% of his service points.
“It was hard conditions. It was very hot. Because of the nature of the court here, you’re going to play some long rallies, especially against a player like him,” Murray said during his press conference.
“At times I played some really good tennis. It wasn’t my best match. I can certainly still do things better. I thought I competed well today, which was probably the most pleasing part for me,” he added.
Fighting on the court for more than three hours in the Californian heat, Murray sprang a surprise on both his opponent and the crowd after hitting an underarm ace. The use of underarm serving has become more commonly used on the men’s Tour in recent years with players such as Nick Kyrgios and Alexander Bublik using the tactic. Murray had never done such a serve on the Tour before but there was a good reason why he did so.
“He started returning from further back, so it was even harder to get free points on the serve,” Murray explained.
“I thought if he’s going to stand that far back and I’m getting no love from the court and the conditions, why not try it and see if I can bring him forward a little bit again. I wasn’t expecting to get an ace out of it.”
Indian Wells is only the second Masters 1000 tournament that Murray has played in this season after Cincinnati. He is a former finalist of the tournament after finishing runner-up to Rarafel Nadal back in 2009.
Awaiting the three-time Grand Slam champion in the next round will be Germany’s Alexander Zverev whom he leads 2-0 in their head-to-head. Zverev, who has won four ATP titles so far this season, battled to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, over American rising star Jenson Brooksby.
“Zverev is a top player. He’s had a good summer post Wimbledon with the Olympics, then a great run in New York,” said Murray. “It’s not going to be easy for me. I played some good matches against him in the past. I will need to play really well.”
“He’ll certainly go in as the overwhelming favourite. But if I play a high-level match, I’ll be right in there.”
Murray’s win over Alcaraz is the third time this year he has defeated a player ranked in the world’s top 40.
