Andy Murray savours ‘best’ Indian Wells serving after setting up Andrey Rublev clash
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Andy Murray played impressively and defeated David Goffin with ease to advance to the next round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Murray had emerged victorious in seven previous encounters with the Belgian player. However, he was not in good shape when they met again, and recently announced that he would probably retire from professional tennis this summer.
After announcing in Dubai, the athlete who had won three grand slams seemed to have a renewed sense of energy. He played exceptionally well and took home a straightforward 6-3 6-2 win, marking one of his best performances of the year. His victory has paved the way for a last-64 match against Andrey Rublev.
During a closely contested opening set, Murray had to wait for an opportunity to break Goffin's serve after the Belgian held strong at an earlier break point. Eventually, Murray made his move and achieved the breakthrough when he was leading 4-3.
In the eighth game of the match, Murray achieved his initial break and secured the first set within 34 minutes. He ended the set by winning the last 10 points, serving two aces for the victory.
The British fourth-ranked player had gained momentum and was now in control. A mistake by Goffin, where he served two faults in a row, allowed the British player to take the lead in the second set.
Murray, who is currently ranked 61st in the world, kept testing Goffin's serve and managed to break it for a second time. This brought him very close to securing a spot in the last-64, and he sealed the deal with a powerful ace.
Murray expressed that it was the most excellent serving he has done in this place. For a decade or so that he has been here, he had difficulties serving before, for unknown reasons. But today, he felt a significant improvement in his serving skills.
Draper from the UK managed to beat Murray on his path to the last 16 of the championship in 2023. However, he ended up losing six games consecutively in the final set, leading to his defeat of 1-6 6-3 6-2 against his Australian rival.
Draper had been going through a tough time lately, despite making it to the semi-finals of the Mexican Open. During his match against Alex de Minaur, who eventually won the tournament, Draper sadly had to retire.
Draper didn't appear to suffer any negative consequences following his bout with food poisoning in Acapulco. He managed to win a long fourth game, giving him a 3-1 lead. Later, he had to fend off a number of attempts to break his serve to maintain his lead.
After a pause, the player ranked 37th globally won the first set with a score of 6-1. However, he made two errors by serving two double faults at the beginning of the second set, giving O'Connell an advantage.
The person from Australia continued playing without turning their head and made it necessary to play another game. This final game began with Draper preventing the other player from taking four points and then Draper himself took the lead with two points.
