Andy Murray saved five match points on his way to defeating Jiri Lehecka as he advanced to Saturday’s Qatar Open final in a thrilling deciding tiebreak.
Murray made a sensational start as he looked to reach his first ATP Tour final since last June as he took the opening set without dropping a game. But 21-year-old Lehecka, a rising star who defeated top seed Andrey Rubelv in the previous round, hit back to serve for the match in the decider.
Murray trailed 40-0 on Lehecka’s serve but saved all three match points, before saving a further two to break the Czech. Murray then forced a deciding tiebreaker, setting up a first match point at 6-5. Lehecka saved it with a bold drop shot, but Murray served an ace and took the next point to win the match.
“That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I’ve had in my career,” Murray said, and the 35-year-old will now attempt to win his first ATP Tour title since Antwerp in 2019 against either Daniil Medvedev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in Saturday’s final.
Murray is now 6-0 in deciding sets this year. The Scot also played deciding sets in each of his victories over Alexandre Muller, Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Sonego this week, while he saved three match points in his opening match against the Italian.
Relive the action after Andy Murray won another memorable match to reach the Qatar Open final:
