Andy Murray beat Matteo Berrettini in three compelling sets at the Miami Open, but there was a disturbing moment that for the 2021 Wimbledon finalist as he came close to collapsing on court.
After claiming the first set, Berrettini’s health took a turn for the worse when he was about to serve at 2-5 in the second set, as he suffered a dizzy spell and needed to use his racket as a crutch to stop him from collapsing.
Doctors checked his blood pressure and after a long break, the Italian was able to continue, but Murray soon sent it to a decider.
“Berrettini broke Murray’s serve in the first game of the match, and really looked like he was in control,” said former British No 1 Tim Henman, as he spoke about the incident on Sky Sports Tennis.
“Then he was just all over the shop, and there had been no other signs of fatigue. It’s not hot by Miami standards, and you saw Berrettini looking distressed at the change of ends.
“The doctor came on and took his blood pressure, he took plenty of supplements and chocolate bars, but he looked very dizzy and unstable.
“That was so unexpected. Berrettini has been playing good tennis and moving well, and all of a sudden looked extremely wobbly on his feet.”
Former British No 1 Annabel Croft also gave her view on Berrettini’s health issue, with relatively cool conditions in Miami adding to the mystery.
“Very worrying scenes. Honestly, I’ve never seen somebody look as if they were about to keel over,” said Croft.
“You wondered what was going on, I thought he was going to faint. He did well to steady himself and not crash to the surface, where he may have done some damage to his body or his head.
“It came over him so quickly. We’ve talked about the conditions, Laura [Robson] told us it hadn’t been quite as hot as the qualifying, when another player nearly fainted, but it can suddenly happen.”
“Then he was just all over the shop, and there had been no other signs of fatigue. It’s not hot by Miami standards, and you saw Berrettini looking distressed at the change of ends.
“The doctor came on and took his blood pressure, he took plenty of supplements and chocolate bars, but he looked very dizzy and unstable.
“That was so unexpected. Berrettini has been playing good tennis and moving well, and all of a sudden looked extremely wobbly on his feet.”
Former British No 1 Annabel Croft also gave her view on Berrettini’s health issue, with relatively cool conditions in Miami adding to the mystery.
“Very worrying scenes. Honestly, I’ve never seen somebody look as if they were about to keel over,” said Croft.
“You wondered what was going on, I thought he was going to faint. He did well to steady himself and not crash to the surface, where he may have done some damage to his body or his head.
“It came over him so quickly. We’ve talked about the conditions, Laura [Robson] told us it hadn’t been quite as hot as the qualifying, when another player nearly fainted, but it can suddenly happen.”
Berrettini looked unsteady for much of the third set and it was no surprise when Murray won the match 4-6 6-3 6-4.
“I think in terms of the way I played and the important moments in that match, I did a good job,” said Murray.
“I was down 0-40 near the end when it was 3-2, and I also created a lot of chances to go up a double break as well and hadn’t got it, stayed tough there and played some good points.
“I moved well, and dictated a lot of the match, which isn’t easy against him.
“Once I got the balance right against him, I felt like I dictated a lot of the points.
“I played a smart match when I needed to.”
When asked by Sky Sports Tennis reporter Laura Robson why he appeared to be laughing at himself on numerous occasions during the match, he offered up this reply: “I’m very different on the tennis court, I’m not a robot, I’m a bit odd, a bit strange, but I play better when I’m like that.”
Murray wrote on the court-side TV camera that there is ‘life in the old dog yet’ after pulling off an impressive comeback victory and he will be hoping to enjoy his first extended run in a tournament in 2024 in a tournament where he has happy memories as a two-time former champion.
Murray will face a big next in his next match as he will take on Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry