Indian Wells: Murray outlasts Daniel for 700th profession win

Andy Murray outlasted qualifier Taro Daniel 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday within the first spherical of the BNP Paribas Open for his 700th profession victory.

“It does mean a lot to me because I know how difficult it’s been, certainly the last few years,” Murray stated, referring to quite a few accidents and a bout with COVID-19. “When you look at the players that have done it, most of the players that are up there and have won that many matches are certainly the best players of the last sort of 30, 40 years.”

Murray, who acquired a wild card into the desert match, twice got here from behind within the practically two-hour match. He overcame a 1-3 deficit within the third set, successful 5 of the ultimate six video games.

“There were points in the match where I did play pretty well,” Murray stated. “But there’s also times in the match where it was poor. I really need to try and find that consistency.”

Murray broke Daniel to tie the set 3-all. The 34-year-old Scottish star led 40-love within the final sport earlier than closing it out on his third match level.

It was their third assembly this yr. Ranked 106th, Daniel gained on the Australian Open. Murray, who’s 88th on the planet, gained in Doha final month.

Murray has by no means gained at Indian Wells. His finest end got here in 2009, when he misplaced to Rafael Nadel within the ultimate. He was a semifinalist in 2007 and 2015, shedding to Novak Djokovic each instances.

Emma Raducanu adopted Murray on the stadium courtroom 1 and beat Caroline Garcia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Murray has been supportive of the 19-year-old Brit who gained the U.S. Open final yr.

They shared a fist bump when Murray exited the courtroom and Raducanu was ready to go on.

“It’s always like a weird one when you’re following someone who has just won,” she stated. “You’re like, `I really want to do the same.’ It kind of gives you the extra fuel. I was really happy for him.”

In different ladies’s motion, No. 3 Iga Swiatek beat Anhelina Kalinina 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. The first set featured seven mixed service breaks. From there, Swiatek dropped only one sport.

“I think at the beginning, I was too focused on the conditions. I was a little bit distracted by what was going on with the wind,” Swiatek stated on courtroom after the match. “I’m pretty happy that I could turn my hat on to fight mode and really stay focused because that was the key.”

No. 7 Karolina Pliskova served seven aces in shedding to Danka Kovinic 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 in her season debut. Pliskova missed the primary two months of the season along with her arm in a forged from an offseason coaching damage.

Petra Martic beat No. 19 Tamara Zidansek 7-5, 7-6 (6). No. 24 Simona Halep and No. 26 Sorana Cirstea additionally gained.