Former World No. 1 Andy Murray had to rally from 0-3 in the third set to take down fellow wild card Robin Haase 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 on Monday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Currently No. 123 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Murray outlasted Haase after two hours and 29 minutes as the match became a physical battle. He struck 33 winners including six aces en route to his first tour-level victory since the 2020 US Open.
Haase gave Murray plenty of trouble with several highlight-reel worthy shots in the pair’s entertaining battle. Murray, who has been working his way back to fitness after a major hip injury, was contesting his second tour-level match of the year.
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The Scot needed a few games to settle into the match, but Haase didn’t give him any respite as he got off to a double-break 4-1 lead in the first set. In the second, Haase had two chances to take the lead at 3-3 before Murray lifted his level, saving both break points on the back of strong first serves.
Murray took the second set after a tie-break, but found himself in trouble again in the third as Haase opened up a 3-0 lead with an early break. Murray continued to hang in the rallies and managed his emotions to stay in the contest, going on a six-game run to seal his spot in the second round.
The victory improves Murray’s ATP Head2Head record against Haase to 5-1. Interestingly, Haase’s only win over Murray came in Rotterdam when the pair contested their first ATP Tour meeting here in 2008.
Murray will face either No. 4 seed Andrey Rublev or American qualifier Marcos Giron in the second round.