“I Kept Fighting” – Andy Murray Joins ATP’s 700 Club

Andy Murray’s long and arduous journey back to the top of the sport is very much a work in progress, but the former world No.1 continues to show promise, as he inspires the public with his fighting spirit and passion for the sport. 

Today both qualities were on full display as Murray fought tooth-and-nail to notch a milestone 700th victory, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4, over Japan’s Taro Daniel.

That 7️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ moment

Soak it in, @andy_murray #IndianWells pic.twitter.com/6S0TqM0ZVo

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 11, 2022

“It’s a target that I set myself at the end of last year and obviously happy to achieve it, there aren’t too many guys that have managed to do that,” Murray said of joining elite club which contains only three other active players—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic—and only 18 in ATP history. “With everything that has gone on in the last two years I could have been way past 700. I kept fighting and got there and now I’ve got to try and reach another target, another milestone, but yeah, this is a good one.” 

After a sluggish start on Stadium 1, Murray found his best tennis in the middle set to seize the momentum as he leveled the match, but his work was far from done. He found himself down a break to Daniel in the third set but relied on cagey defense and poise under pressure to claw his way back to a winning position. Eventually, the 34-year-old world No.88 claimed the final two games of the match to improve his career record to 700-220. 

The Brit who won't quit 👏#IndianWells | @andy_murray pic.twitter.com/ViPdZ6R2Bp

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 11, 2022

That’s a pile of victories about as tall as the ever present San Jacinto mountains, the backdrop for Murray’s latest triumph. So many wins that Murray no longer remembers them all. 

“About five or six years ago I could remember all of my matches and all of the points and now I struggle to remember what happened last week,” the 2009 BNP Paribas Open runner-up told the crowd with a smile. 

Murray moves on to face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the second round. The three-time Grand Slam champion knows he will be in for a stern test against the 31st seed. 

“He’s a very unorthodox player, he’s unbelievably talented, has great hand skills, can play all the shots and plays very differently compared to a lot of guys on the tour; he takes a lot of risks, and he’s started this year well. It’s not going to be easy but if I play well I’ve got a shot.” 

If he takes advantage of the opportunity, Murray will be well on his way to his next big goal. 

“Yeah, let’s go for 800,” he concluded. 

Rune Rising

Denmark’s Holger Rune has been flying up the rankings over the last year. The 18-year-old, who was barely inside the ATP’s top-500 when 2021 started, now finds himself at 86 in the world. Today he demonstrated why the number next to his name keeps rising by locking down a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ugo Humbert.

The victory marks the first Masters 1000 victory for Rune, and sets a second-round clash with Matteo Berrettini.

“I thought I played one of the cleanest matches I’ve ever played,” the qualifier told BNPParibas.com. “Not giving anything away, playing aggressive, putting pressure on him and not giving easy points, making him play for every shot so I’m super proud of the way I played today, and the whole tournament, also for the qualifying.” 

Paul Advances 

Tommy Paul earned his first career top-5 win when he took out Andrey Rublev in the third round last year at Indian Wells. This year the world No.39 opened accounts with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin to set up a second-round clash with third-seeded Alexander Zverev.