British hero Andy Murray has reached his first final on the ATP Tour since June at the Qatar Open after beating Jiri Lehecka in an absolute thriller and hailed the result one of the ‘most amazing turnarounds’ in his career.
The three-time Grand Slam champion, who plays with a metal hip, rolled back the years as he saved five match points on his way to a remarkable victory to make it 6-0 in deciding sets in 2023 after being taken to three sets in all four of his matches at the event so far.
Murray claimed a bagel set but the Czech star bounced back to force a decider before the 35-year-old saved two match points on his own serve and then three as Lehecka served for the win as the Brit broke back and won the tiebreak 8-6.
Murray’s 6-0 3-6 7-6 win over Lehecka – an Australian Open quarter-finalist last month – means he will now face Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final on Saturday, looking for his first trophy since he won in Antwerp in 2019.
Two-time Wimbledon winner Murray finished as a runner-up at two ATP events last year but has not any lifted silverware on Tour in over three years, last doing so when he beat Stan Wawrinka at the European Open in Belgium.
Speaking after his incredible win over Lehecka in Qatar, Murray said: ‘That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I’ve had in my career.
‘He obviously had the three match points at 5-4 but I also think when I was serving at 5-3 and yeah, I don’t know.
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