Citi Open 2022: 3 Factors which stood out in Mikael Ymer's 1R win over Andy Murray
Mikael Ymer of Sweden beat Andy Murray of Great Britain 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in the first round of the Citi Open in Washington on Monday. The match lasted for two hours and 50 minutes.
A moment that @MikaelYmer will never forget 🙌
What a performance from the 23-year-old against Murray!
#CitiOpen
https://t.co/owPzUvnKI2
The 23-year-old Ymer faced stiff resistance from the 35-year-old Brit. However, he was able to prevail in the end and will face Aslan Karatsev of Russia in the second round on Wednesday.
On that note, let’s take a look at three factors that stood out in the match:
#1 Mikael Ymer edged out Andy Murray in the marathon first set:
Ymer and Murray exchanged several breaks of serve in the first set and took it to a tiebreak. Murray broke Ymer four times in the first set, but the Swede managed to break back on each of the four occasions to level the score.
Murray served for the set in the 12th game of the first set and managed to save as many as five break points before finally giving in to Ymer. The tiebreak was lengthy as well and Ymer ultimately managed to win it 10-8.
Ymer played a few wonderful passing shots and impressed with his swift movement in the first set. Murray, however, had only himself to blame as he kept letting go of opportunities to take a decisive lead on several occasions.
#2 Murray bounced back to win the second set:
Ymer got off to a wonderful start to the second set by breaking Murray in the third game and then holding his serve to lead 3-1. However, Murray then won four consecutive games to lead 5-3, breaking Ymer in the sixth and eighth games.
Andy Murray then managed to hold on to the lead and won the set 6-4. Ymer started by playing the angles well in the second set, but Murray demonstrated his grit by hitting quite a few winners himself to take the attack to the Swede.
#3 Ymer raced through the final set as an exhausted Murray struggled to cope:
Andy Murray was exhausted by the start of the final set and Ymer raced to a 4-0 lead in the third, breaking the Brit twice in the process. Murray then managed to win a game, but Ymer again broke him in the seventh game to win the match.
Ymer’s superior fitness level was evident in the final set as Murray struggled to keep pace with his opponent. The Swede hit yet another superb passing shot on match point to win in the end.
Both players succeeded in putting pressure on each other’s second serve repeatedly and got a plethora of break point opportunities, most of which were converted. However, Murray could only win 65% of the points on his first serve in the match against Ymer’s 75% and it was a crucial factor that turned the match in favor of Ymer.