Andy Murray ended a miserable six-match losing streak by overcoming an injury scare to pick up his first win of 2024.
Murray needed medical treatment on his knee early in his match against Alexandre Muller at the Qatar Open on Tuesday.
But the former world No1 recovered to edge out the Frenchman 6-1, 7-6 to end his recent rut.
The 36-year-old raced into a 3-0 lead but still looked out of sorts after pulling up with a grimace as early as game two.
He had his medical timeout after the following game and, while clearly in discomfort in the initial games afterwards, the issue seemed to hamper him less and less as the match wore on.
Andy Murray WINS 💪
— Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) February 20, 2024
Just look what it means 👏 pic.twitter.com/qDbRtYVen9
Murray, a finalist in Qatar last year and facing a drop down the rankings without a good run this week, wrapped up the opening set in just 46 minutes but faced a far tighter second as Muller fought back.
Murray looked in danger of being taken to a deciding set as Muller got the first mini break in the tiebreak but he levelled back to 5-5 and won the next two points for the match.
After a first win since October last year, he said: “Obviously, the last few months have been really tough on the court for me. I’ve not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones. It was getting tighter there at the end.
“I’m delighted to get through. I’m just proud I managed to get through the match and get another win under my belt and get me through this difficult moment. Hopefully this is the start of a better run.”
