Andy Murray vs Medvedev LIVE: Qatar Open build-up and latest updates

“Yeah well I think like today obviously I could help myself more if I start the game faster but also you know if I also look at some of the players I’ve played against this year you know they’ are not easy games.

“Zverev, admittedly, he’s coming back from injury, but it’s still a very difficult match. I think Sonego can play very well in these conditions. I think he played a solid match the other day. Berrettini in the first round of the Australian Open, it will never be easy.

“Yeah, like I said, of course I’d like to have faster games, but sometimes it happens and I’m sure it won’t stay that way for the rest of the season. It’s just a time I’m going through where the games are difficult.”

Then who’s ready for another Murray coaster?

An incredible run in Qatar comes to an end today with the biggest test of them all.

Murray 9/2 to win today, Medvedev very close at 1/8.

If you think Murray can save AND win a match point, then you can back him at 20/1.

“There’s a certain calm to those situations because you’ve been in them a lot in a short amount of time,” Andy Murray said of those crucial match points.

“You know how to try to play and it becomes a little habit.”

Carlos Alcaraz insists there is no ‘pressure’ to fight Novak Djokovic for world no.

“I’m not a kid or a player who likes the little things,” said Alcaraz.

“I always want more and we will be looking for it this week. The truth is I don’t feel any pressure to contend with [Novak] Djokovic as number 1.

“To be honest, I’m hoping for a nice year with nice tournaments. I’ll be under a little pressure because I’ll be defending some important titles and playing at a great level.

“But like I said before, I have to play game after game, enjoy it, more than get results. I hope so.”

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has cooled talks of a rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz, insisting Rafael Nadal still deserves to be his ‘biggest rival’ on the ATP Tour.

“Alcaraz is playing at a great level,” said Djokovic in Belgrade. “I mean, especially after being away from the tour for several months with injuries he was struggling with.

“It’s amazing that he immediately finds the top level. That’s actually a trait of a mature player. He doesn’t have that much experience, but he shows maturity very early and with the way he behaves on and off the pitch.

“He’s a great guy and has a very good team of people around him. He deserves all his success and I think he brings new fresh energy to tennis, you know. He is a very dynamic player and a personality that is very popular all over the world. So he deserves everything.

“I cannot call him my main competitor. My main rival is still Nadal, you know, although Alcaraz is obviously No. 2 [in the world rankings]. He was number 1, he won a slam.

“He’s arguably the next biggest thing in our sport or he’s already there. I just feel like the rivalry with Nadal is something that’s hard to get rid of just because somebody’s done great things in the last year and a half, you know. “Nadal was the biggest rival and he will probably remain the biggest rival I’ve ever had in my career.”

World number one Novak Djokovic is hoping for a special permit for the upcoming tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.

Djokovic is currently unable to enter the United States as he is not vaccinated against Covid-19.

However, with the current restrictions due to end in April, Djokovic wants an exemption to enter the country and play the ‘Sunshine Double’.

“I’m waiting for an answer, it’s not about me. I’ll know soon,” Djokovic, who hasn’t played in America since 2021, said at a press conference in Belgrade on Wednesday. “Everything is in progress. I am grateful to the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments and communities for their public support.

“They want me to play in their tournaments. For that I am very grateful because I have a great desire to be there, I haven’t played there for a few years. I’m looking forward to a positive decision soon, but it’s not in my hands. At the moment that’s all I can say.

“Right now I can only hope. My position is the same, I want a positive result.”

“I don’t know, it was one of the most amazing turns of my career,” he said.

“I knew it was his first serve for an endgame so I had to keep the pressure up because I know how difficult it can be to finish games like that but I have no idea how I managed to reverse that .

“I’m feeling good at the moment, although of course the adrenaline shoots up after a game like this.

“I’m sure there will be a bit of tiredness tomorrow but I’ve got a great team behind me. My physio has a job to do tonight.”

Andy Murray saved five match points in another marathon encounter to somehow reach the Qatar Open final.

The two-time Wimbledon champion went the distance again – all six of his victories this year came in deciding sets – in a stunning 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6) victory over rising Czech star Jiri Lehecka.

Murray, trailing 5-3 in the decider, had to save two match points before Lehecka held for a 40-0 lead in the next game.

What happened next was hard to believe even by Murray’s standards as he saved all three match points to level the set at 5-5 before defeating a shocked Lehecka in the tiebreak.

“I don’t know, it was one of the most amazing turning points in my career,” the 35-year-old Scotsman said on Amazon Prime.