Murray's courageous Miami comeback ends in heartbreak against Machac

What appeared destined to become an Andy Murray moment of magic turned into heartbreak Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings rallied from 2-5 down in the final set against Tomas Machac and saved a match point at 5-6 before forcing a tie-break against the Czech. Murray led by a late mini break before Machac earned a 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5) victory.

“It's always a pleasure to share the court with such a great legend. So first of all, I'm happy that I can play this long match against him. But on the opposite, I don't want to play so long!” Machac said in his on-court interview. “But at the end, there was everything... I pushed myself from the bottom to manage to win today.”

3H 27M ⏱️😳

Match points don't come much better than this, take a bow Tomas Machac! @MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/YkX2GT1Jye

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 24, 2024

The 23-year-old triumphed after three hours and 28 minutes, marking the third-longest best-of-three Miami men’s singles match on record. Machac saved 13 of the 15 break points according to Infosys ATP Stats.

It was a memorable third set. Murray clawed his way back onto serve. In the middle of sealing the 4-5 game to level at 5-5, he rolled his left ankle and writhed in pain on the court, requiring immediate attention from an ATP physiotherapist.

Murray returned to the court to continue the match and at 5-6 saved match point by stepping into the court. He then led 5/3 in the tie-break before Machac won the final four points, making great use of his backhand down the line.

“Today for sure, it was the toughest match of my career,” Machac said. “Really, I can say there was everything [in the third set].”

Machac will next play Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who ousted Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6(7) earlier in the day.

Murray, a two-time Miami champion, will be left to rue his missed opportunity to complete a memorable comeback. After the match, the 36-year-old took a long moment to thank the crowd before signing autographs as he departed.