Andy Murray became the 10th player to reach 50 wins in singles matches at the Australian Open with his thrilling five-set victory over Matteo Berrettini.
Murray joined his ‘big four’ rivals in the list of men to reach the milestone in the Open era, with Roger Federer top of the pile (102) ahead of Novak Djokovic (83) and Rafael Nadal (77), with Sweden’s Stefan Edberg (56) the only other male player to rack up a half-century.
Serena Williams leads the way on the women’s side (92), with Maria Sharapova (57) her nearest competitor.
Murray’s victory over Berrettini – a former Wimbledon finalist and the world number 14 – was his first over a top-20 player at a grand slam since he initially developed hip problems in 2017.
The win was reminiscent of his finest, sealed after four hours and 49 minutes in a final-set tie-break after having saved a match point.
Murray looked set to end his career with 48 Australian Open wins in 2019, when he gave an emotional press conference at Melbourne Park before undergoing a second hip surgery.
He recorded a five-set success over Nikoloz Basilashvili on his return to Australia in 2022, but followed that up with a disappointing second-round loss to world number 120 Taro Daniel.
As a result of his injury-induced hiatus, the 35-year-old Murray is the second-oldest player to reach 50 Melbourne Park wins behind Venus Williams, who did so at the age of 36 in a run to the 2017 final.
The Australian Open is Murray’s second most successful grand slam in terms of match victories, behind Wimbledon (60), but he has never won the title.
Most Australian Open wins
Roger Federer – 102
Serena Williams – 92
Novak Djokovic – 83
Rafael Nadal – 77
Maria Sharapova – 57
Stefan Edberg – 56
Lindsay Davenport – 56
Venus Williams – 54
Martina Hingis – 52
Andy Murray – 50
In fact, the Scot is the only male player to win 50 matches and fail to lift the trophy at any of the grand slams.
He made it to five finals between 2010 and 2016, losing the first to six-time champion Federer and the next four to nine-time winner Djokovic.
Murray struggled to produce his best tennis in those finals, winning just two sets across the five matches.
