Andy Murray claimed another sensational victory to continue his stirring 2023 season as he outlasted Alexander Zverev in over three hours to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open.
After surviving match points against Lorenzo Sonego in the opening round, Murray prevailed against former world No 2 Zverev 7-6 2-6 7-5 after overturning the momentum in the deciding set.
Murray broke Zverev’s serve late in the decider before serving out the victory against the reigning Olympic champion and tournament’s fourth seed. “I was hanging on in the third set,” Murray said. “He was creating the chances and was the better player, but I stayed strong and kept fighting.”
The match was a reward for the three-time grand slam winner after emerging from an epic first-round encounter against the Italian Sonego, to build on an impressive Australian Open campaign - where Murray also defeated a top-20 player in Matteo Berrettini.
Murray will now face the French qualifier and world No 170 Alexandre Muller in the quarter-finals. Follow all the reaction in our live blog below:
