Andy Murray’s Australian Open career ends with loss to Bautista Agut | Australian Open 2023

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After a day and a half of seemingly dragging his body to its limits, Andy Murray is back at it again. He started his third round bout by shading himself, even barely able to move, but then he eased up. He started playing. One fist pump at a time, tell every spectator. Somehow, he ended up grabbing a group for himself.

It was an exciting last stand that enveloped his resilience and determination, but it wasn’t enough. When Murray’s massive workload finally caught up to him, his Australian Open Championship came to an end falling 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 to Roberto Bautista Agut.

Afterwards Murray said he had mixed feelings but was proud of the way he handled himself all week. “I feel like I gave my all for this event. So I’m proud of that. That’s really, in everything you do, all you can do. You can’t always control the outcome. You can’t control how well you play or the outcome. You can control the effort you put in.” I put it into it, and I gave everything I had in the last three games.”

Ahead of the rematch of the 2019 Classic that Murray nearly retired, which Bautista Agut won in five sets, the only important question was how well Murray would recover. Between his memorable five-set victories over Mathieu Berrettini, the 13th seed, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, he was on the court for 10 hours and 34 minutes.

In the early stages, the scene was bleak. Murray was constantly holding body parts and moving at an almost brisk pace. When he tried to rush to the net, he saw passing shots fly by him even before he reached the service line. Murray said that although he didn’t feel too tired in his legs, his lower back was aching after playing a lot of tennis. Between points, his unease was palpable.

“I couldn’t really extend my strokes,” he said. “I couldn’t hit a serve. I couldn’t really stretch my back on the serve to generate a lot of power on the first serve.”

Murray won just one point in his first three matches while Bautista Agut shone in the opening set. The Spaniard then broke to lead 6-1, 2-1 after Murray’s legs collapsed on a second serve, resulting in a double fault.

Even in those early stages, when his prospects seemed hopeless, Murray fought desperately. When he clinched his first bout at 1-3, he raised his fist vigorously into the roaring crowd. Each of his few victories was celebrated with great cheers. His passion rallied the Margaret Court Arena audience, whose cries echoed at his every successful move.

One of the great sights in tennis is the mental stress that an injured or physically damaged player can inflict on an opponent. Pressure, from Murray and the crowd alike, slowly seeped inside Bautista Agut, and as he tightened, Murray’s shoulders ripped open.

“I think he knows very well how to play a Grand Slam match,” said Bautista Agut. “He understands the game very well, he knows how to play with the crowd, how to play with the opponent’s nerves.”

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Fueled by adrenaline and pure desire, Murray pulls off some hitting-making absurdities, hitting forehands with runs and accurate shots while besting even Bautista Agut in long, high-octane sprints. From 2-4 down, Murray forced a tiebreaker and won it through two sets of stunning rallies with outlandish shots and upon stealing the set, Murray stared at his audience with his hands on his hips, his face an image of utter disbelief as he received a standing ovation.

But Bautista Agut regained his composure and got back to writing, questioning Murray’s movement and firing into forgiveness. Even as Murray’s legs began to fail him again, his serve speeds were spot on as he stumbled from groundstrokes, fought back and forced Bautista Agut to play at a high level to take the match. He did, hitting 50 winners for just 29 unforced errors, holding his nerve at key moments and succeeding where many other players would have failed.

Once the dust settles after a tough finish, there will be more positives for the former World No. 1 to take from his run. Showing once again that he plays high quality tennis, that he can compete with and defeat the best players in the world, he has to look forward to the remainder of his season with his head held high.

“I can run a deeper distance than a third round slam, there’s no question about that,” said Murray. “Obviously, the draws can open you up. I also need to help myself with that. If I was playing at that level last year, I probably wouldn’t be 50 or 60 in the world. It’s up to me to try and change that.”

Roberto Bautista Agut celebrates winning the match. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Despite his lower back complaints, Murray thinks he’ll be fine with a little rest. He next plans to compete in Rotterdam, which starts on February 11, and hopes his momentum will continue to grow.

Earlier, Dan Evans bowed out in the third round to fifth seed Andrei Rublev, who played an excellent match with Evans in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

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