Another day, another Andy Murray match that went the distance and he admits coming up clutch in deciding sets is no coincidence as he has worked hard.

Murray has played 10 matches this year and seven of them have gone the distance and he is yet to lose a match this year when there has been a deciding set.

His latest heroic effort came at the Indian Wells Open on Thursday as he came from a set down to defeat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-4 three hours and 12 minutes in the opening round.

Murray feels there was nothing lucky about his latest marathon win.

“In some of the matches I managed to win this year, I felt like I was fortunate in some of them, whereas today I really had lots of chances in that third set,” he said.

“I wasn’t getting them and was getting really frustrated. He was coming up with some big serves at times but I also felt like I made some poor decisions as well. The more chances that went by the more you think about it.

“I did really well to keep going in the end… Another brutal match and glad I managed to get through it.”

The opening set to nearly 90 minutes to complete with both players getting a break before Murray saved a set point in game 12. The tie-breaker was a close affair with the Argentine edging it 3-2 on the mini breaks.

Murray, though, was brilliant in the second set as he broke in games four and six to take it to a decider. He then did what he does best in 2023: win the decider. After saving two break points in game eight, he got the crucial break in game nine and then served it out on his second match point.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence, but last year I lost a lot of them,” he said of his deciding-set heroics. “I was talking to my team about it, just saying like the law of averages… this can’t keep going. Once I won one I did feel like I would start to feel more comfortable in those situations. Thankfully that’s been the case. Obviously winning all seven, I’m aware that at some stage I’m going to lose one of them.

“I worked very hard in the off-season to put myself in a great position physically, and I feel very motivated. Even when I’ve gotten behind in matches I’ve kept fighting, kept trying to find solutions… I won some matches that certainly if some of these matches were played last year I wouldn’t have won them.”

Up next is 15th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and if he comes through that he will face either 25th seed Dan Evans or Jack Draper in the third round. Draper set up an all-British second-round clash as he defeated qualifier Leandro Riedi 6-1, 6-1.

READ MORE: WATCH: Gael Monfils and Andy Murray share touching moment at Indian Wells

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