Florida, March 21 : Andy Murray got off to a good start in the 2024 Miami Open as the Brit rallied past an ailing Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a two-hour, 48-minute battle here at Hard Rock Stadium.
With Wednesday’s win, Murray joined Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the 30-win club in Miami. The Serbian boasts 44 wins in South Florida while Nadal has 40.
A two-time Miami champion produced superb court coverage and held the advantage in lengthy baseline rallies, committing just 20 unforced errors to his opponent’s 44, to earn his fourth consecutive first-round win
Berrettini arrived in Miami off the back of a finalist finish at the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Phoenix, where he was playing his first event following a six-month injury layoff.
Next up for Murray is Tomas Martin Etcheverry, who beat him in straight sets at the Australian Open. The Argentine has won two of their three encounters.
Meanwhile, Frenchman Luca Van Assche earned a career milestone on Wednesday when he claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 win.
The 19-year-old defeated Pavel Kotov 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 29 minutes to reach the second round of the Miami Open.
The French teen will next play seventh-seed Casper Ruud.
In other Miami action, Jack Draper served past Taro Daniel 6-3, 6-2 in 70 minutes.
The left-handed Briton hit 10 aces and won 97 per cent of his first-serve points (28/29) to advance to a second-round, where he will meet 22nd seed Nicolas Jarry, according to ATP tour.
