Best ATP Tour Comebacks Of 2023: Relive Murray's Doha Magic & More

The unique scoring system of tennis means that a match is never truly over until it's over. That fact was proven time and again this season, never more emphatically than in the matches listed below — all of which featured match point saves.

As we continue our look back at the 2023 season, ATPTour.com counts down the biggest comebacks of the year on the ATP Tour. Tomorrow we look at the best comebacks at the Grand Slams.

5) Beijing R32 & Paris R64, De Minaur d. Murray
A comeback so nice he pulled it off twice. In a month's time, Alex de Minaur found himself trailing Andy Murray 2-5 in a final set on two occasions: first in Beijing and then again in Paris. The Aussie's never-say-die attitude helped him save a combined four match points across the two matches to improve his perfect Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Briton to 6-0, including four wins this season (also at Monte-Carlo and Queen's Club).

In Beijing, De Minaur saved two match points on serve at 2-5 in the final set and another at 5/6 in a decisive tie-break to earn a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(6) victory. In a match the Aussie called a "scrap fest", both players struggled to consistently find their best tennis. But that did not stop De Minaur from giving his best effort, which proved just enough to get over the line after two hours, 53 minutes.

Four weeks later it was a similar story in Paris-Bercy. This time, the match point came on Murray's serve at 5-4 in the final set. But by stepping into the court in the crucial moments, De Minaur won that game as part of a five-game run to steal the match from 2-5 by a final score of 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5.

4) Indian Wells R4, Auger-Aliassime d. Paul 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)
Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the quarter-finals at his sixth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 by saving six match points to edge home favourite Tommy Paul in Indian Wells. 

The Canadian was battling from behind for the entire evening match, dropping the first set and trailing 0-3 in the third. He clawed back to level the deciding set at 3-3 only to twice go down triple match point in the closing stages. At 5-6, 0/40, Auger-Aliassime's serve bailed him out as he won five straight points to force a tie-break. Down 3/6 in the tie-break, the eighth seed again went on a run of five points, with this final flurry sealing his place in the quarters near midnight.

"I always stayed positive, I kept my hopes up, I kept thinking, 'OK, I'm not that far, I can come back,' " a relieved Auger-Aliassime said of his great escape. "At the end, when you're down 0/40 on your serve, you know that... 'OK if I win this first one, serve well, then again, then again, we're back on even terms.'

"You just kind of take it one by one. It's very cliche to say but it still works; that's the proof. I'm really happy to get through. It's a crazy feeling."

3) Munich Final, Rune d. Van de Zandschulp 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(3)
Holger Rune overcame an arm injury, a twisted ankle and four championship points against him to complete a successful title defence in Munich. Struggling with an issue in his dominant right arm, the exhausted Dane fell behind 2-5 in the final set, with Botic van de Zandschulp bringing up his first two match points at 40/15 in that game.

Rune gutted his way through several lengthy rallies to break, only to tweak his ankle later in the set. After battling back to 5-5, Rune was broken again, presenting his Dutch opponent a third opportunity to serve out the match. But after he erased two more match points, a third straight break for the defending champion raised his confidence for the decisive tie-break. Rune raced to the title behind clean hitting in the closing moments.

"I was feeling really exhausted but I was fighting until the end and I tried everything I could to come back into the match," Rune said after claiming his fourth tour-level singles title. "I think for the crowd it was the perfect final. We really pushed each other to the limit and I am super happy I defended the title today.

"It could help me a little bit to not be as hurt. It was a struggle, but I managed to get it done."

2) Kitzbühel R16, Molcan d. Ofner 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(5)
Alex Molcan had one foot in the locker room, trailing home favourite Sebastian Ofner 4-6, 0-5 and facing two match points in Kitzbühel. But what was shaping up to be a routine midweek matchup turned into one of the craziest contests of the ATP Tour season thanks to a stirring comeback by the Slovakian.

Two match-point saves on serve sparked a run of nine straight games for Molcan, who went from the brink of defeat to a 2-0 lead in the third set. As Ofner saw his sure-fire win transform back into a battle, the Austrian appeared to grow more and more frustrated by his lefty opponent's consistent baseline game.

But that was not the final twist in this clay-court tale. Ofner rediscovered his serve and regrouped to win three straight games, pulling ahead 3-2, and later saved a break point to hold for 6-5.

After the scale of Molcan's heroics to that point, the 0/30 hole at 5-6 and the 0/2 deficit he faced in the decisive tie-break were just minor bumps on the final stretch of his road to a stunning victory.

"To be honest, I do not really know what happened today," he reflected, seeming just as stunned as the packed crowd in Kitzbühel. "I started to play faster and won the second set, which is kind of a miracle for me. But I am so happy that I did it in the end."

1) Doha, Murray Saves 8 Combined Match Points To Reach Final
Andy Murray has given us plenty of "Murray Magic" over the years, but the more fitting phrase for the former World No. 1's start to 2023 was "Marathon Murray". After he played a trio of epics at the Australian Open, Murray needed the maximum three sets for all four of his Doha victories en route to his first ATP Tour final since 2019. All told, he saved eight match points at the ATP 250, where he is a two-time former champion.

His dramatic Doha run began with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory against Lorenzo Sonego in which he saved three match points. Murray saved those match points at 4-5 in the final set and later overcame a 0/3 start to the tie-break by winning seven of the match's final eight points, his comeback fuelled by success on his cross-court backhand pattern.

Next was a three-hour battle with Alexander Zverev. Though Murray did not have to face a match point, he was two points from defeat on two occasions deep in the final set of an eventual 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-5 victory. Another comeback, this one from a set down against Alexandre Muller in the quarters, set up a semi-final showdown with Jiri Lehecka.

Murray made a blistering start to take a 6-0 opening set, but any hope of an uncharacteristically straightforward victory vanished when Lehecka took the second. The Czech's powerful game brought him to the edge of a famous victory with a third-set lead of 5-3. The next two games would see five match points, including three from 40/0 at 5-4, but Murray's determined defence denied Lehecka his first tour-level final. Final score: 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6).

"I don’t know [how I won]," said a disbelieving Murray, who hit just 17 winners to his opponent's 44. "That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I’ve had in my career. You obviously had the three match points at 5-4, but also [two] when I was serving at 5-3, and then I don’t know.

"I knew it was his first time serving for a final, so I knew I had to try and keep the pressure on at the end. I know how difficult it is to serve matches like that out, but I’ve no idea how I managed to turn that one round to be honest."

Read all stories in our Best Of 2023 review