- Latest action and updates from the first round match
- Nick Kyrgios: ‘I wasn’t as scared of Rafa as I was Andy’
- Feel free to email Jacob or to tweet: @JacobSteinberg
Second set: Murray 4-6, 1-1 Bautista Agut* (*denotes server): At 15-all, Murray comes up with a wondrous forehand return, rousing the crowd with a glorious angled shot from right to left. Bautista Agut’s left scrambling. This has come from nowhere – and Murray uses the adrenaline to win the next point, hitting an inside-out forehand down the line for two break points. He’s still got it, you know. His natural talent, however, is fighting a losing battle with his right hip and Bautista Agut wipes out both break points before holding on to his serve with more accurate hitting.
Second set: Murray* 4-6, 1-0 Bautista Agut (*denotes server): Murray’s not going to give up easily. He comes through a tough game, holding to love. If he’s hurting, he’s hiding it well. “Completely agree with your views on Murray,” Matt Dony says. “The early snobbishness about him, the whole ‘Scottish if he loses’ schtick, the desire to see him as a plucky underdog (rather than someone who fought their way to the flipping Number 1 ranking!), the weirdly nasty fallout from that ‘Whoever’s playing England’ joke, people have used all manner of sticks to try and beat him with. But he’s played some magnificent tennis, he’s given some of the best, most insightful tennis press conferences I’ve ever seen, and (this can’t be overstated) he’s won multiple Grand Slams. He’s played in the same era as Federer, Djokovic and Rafa, and he’s proved himself alongside them. All while seeming genuinely down-to-Earth. If you don’t miss him when he’s gone, then you are, frankly, wrong.”
Written by Jacob Steinberg
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2019/jan/14/andy-murray-v-roberto-bautista-agut-australian-open-2019-live under the title “Andy Murray v Roberto Bautista Agut: Australian Open 2019 – live!”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
