Despite his recent struggles on the court, Andy Murray defeated David Goffin 6-3 6-2 in the opening round at Indian Wells on Wednesday by putting on a serving clinic.
Although he wants to have the opportunity to win a third Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games, the 36-year-old stated late last month that he is likely to end his career after the summer.
The former world number one, who is currently ranked 61st, looked dangerous on center court and defeated the Belgian for the eighth time in a row, despite the fact that he may never regain the kind of form that saw him win three Grand Slam titles.
Murray, who will next face Andrey Rublev, claimed that having a strong serve was crucial.
Murray, who blasted four aces and won 85% of his first serve points, remarked, “For me, it was the serve.”
“A large portion of my remaining game is now free.” You feel more pressure when you constantly have to battle and struggle for points on your own serve, but today I received a lot of free points off my serve.”This gave me more freedom in the rematch matches, enabling me to play strong defense when needed and hit the ball well from the back of the court. An excellent performance all around.”
In other first-round matches, American Brandon Nakashima defeated fellow American Christopher Eubanks 6-3 7-6(3) to advance to face Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, never facing a break point.
“Playing a guy like Chris, who has a big game, big serve, I knew I just had to do my best to hold my serve and knew I was going to get opportunities on his serve,” Nakashima stated.
“I believe that I am little more favored on this surface. I’m not getting hit by the ball as quickly because of the slower surface. However, I’m pleased with how I performed.”
A number of players advanced to the second round of the Masters 1000 event in the California desert on Wednesday, including Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, Japanese star Taro Daniel, and Australians Thanasi Kokkinakis and Christopher O’Connell.