Andy Murray, the three-time Grand Slam winner, is rarely talked about these days, which is sad really. Because, in his prime, he was the only player to defeat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final until Alcaraz did it too this year.
Recently, he competed against Brandon Nakashima at the Washington Open which had the promise of a mesmerizing show of talent and tenacity written all over it. With Murray’s legendary career and Nakashima’s developing stardom, the matchup promised to be an exciting one.
Andy Murray defeats Brandon Nakashima
Andy Murray, a 36-year-old British tennis player, gets a bye in the opening round of the Washington event despite recently losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas at Wimbledon. In the round of 32, he faced off against Brandon Nakashima and won. He made a remarkable return to singles since Wimbledon by securing a smashing 7-6(5) 6-4 victory against Brandon Nakashima. Murray secured his spot in the second round of the Washington Open.
Other matches saw Liam Brady lose to Tallon Griekspoor, while British number two Dan Evans defeated Gregoire Barrere after a comeback. In the round of 16, Evans will take against Alexander Shevchenko. Chris Eubanks, an American who made an impression at Wimbledon, prevailed over Sho Shimabukuro and will now play Australian Jordan Thompson in the next round.
Andy Murray reflects on his performance at Washington Open
Andy Murray expressed gratitude to the supporters that went out of their way to attend the DC Open on a Wednesday afternoon, even if it meant missing work. Murray gave a classic performance on the stadium court, to the adoring cheers of the audience. Murray triumphed 7-6(5), 6-4 over American Brandon Nakashima after fighting back to win the first-set tiebreak. This was his first victory in Washington since 2018.
“I was struggling a little bit on the return. Brandon serves well, especially his second serve. I was struggling to create many opportunities on return. But I was just a little bit more solid than him at the end of the tie-break, he made a few mistakes, I put enough balls back in play,” Murray said when reflecting on his performance.
“Then I got the break immediately at the beginning of the second set and served it out pretty well from there. It was tight at the end. The courts and the balls are extremely slow here, so you’re having to work really hard in all of the games, it’s not easy to finish points. It was a good one to get through,” he added.
Murray made accurate shots and powerful volleys that outclassed Nakashima in the match, which was an exciting exhibition of skill. He made a spectacular comeback in the tiebreak after falling behind 5-2 because of the fervent crowd’s encouragement.
After his performance, Murray admitted that he had to work very hard to win, but it paid off when he made a successful comeback.
