Murray saves another five matchpoints with Lehecka, and is in the final in Doha

He doesn’t even know how he does it: “Honestly, I have no idea.”

Not even Andy Murray knows how he still manages to put together matches like this, three sets of fighting and suffering, seasoned with saved matchpoints – three against Sonego in the first round, even 5 today – and in any case emerge victorious. In spite of being 35 years old, and after all the operations that have filled his body with scars. A player, a fantastic agonist.

Even the 21-year-old Jiri Lehecka, n.52 Atp., one of the hottest young players on the circuit, the future tennis elite together with Sinner, Alcaraz, Rune, in Doha had to surrender to the Murray Rule (6-0 3-6 7-6). Really entered the court only after the first set (6-0 for Murray), the finalist of the last Next Gen Final started to grind excellent tennis, and against an apparently tired Murray from the marathons of the past few days, nervous, annoyed, he won 6-3 in the second and hoisted himself 5-3 in the third. Murray held serve by saving a first serve, but the Czech then went 40-0 playing near-perfect three-pointers. A match that seemed to be over, but that Andy with a worldwide ringworm – and with courage, and with infinite talent – managed to cancel, then placing the most unexpected of counter breaks. He then went 6-5, let himself be caught up on 6 all, in the tie-break 3-1 went off and on 3-3 all he risked an ankle injury, but in the end he won, and tomorrow he will play for the fifth time the Qatar 250 final. For now here in the matchpoint week he has saved 8, but the figure may not be definitive…