Indian Wells 2022 - Andy Murray comes from behind to defeat Taro Daniel and claim the 700th Tour level win of his career

ByPaul Hassall

Updated 12/03/2022 at 10:07 GMT

Andy Murray's hopes of making a deep run at the BNP Paribas Open remain alive following a 1-6 6-2 6-4 win over Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel. The British wildcard was a break down in the decider but came through a rollercoaster encounter. Murray will now meet number 31 seed Alexander Bublik in round two.

Andy Murray secured a landmark 700th Tour level win as he saw off the challenge of Taro Daniel to edge into round two at Indian Wells.

The Scot prevailed 1-6 6-2 6-4 to become just the fourth active player to reach the milestone alongside Roger Federer (1251), Rafael Nadal (1043) and Novak Djokovic (991).

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Murray, who is currently ranked 88 in the world, made the first major move of the contest when he conjured up two break points in Game 3. The three-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t convert and was left to rue a missed second serve return as Daniel escaped to hold from deuce.

It proved even more significant in the following game as the Japanese world number 106 broke to love when he took advantage of a poorly executed drop shot.

This was the third time Murray has locked horns with Daniel this season having avenged his shock Australian Open defeat to the Japanese with a convincing win in Doha. This was more like their first meeting as Daniel’s aggressive groundstrokes continually broke through Murray’s defences.

Another break to love compounded the Scot’s misery and a sublime, wrong-footing drop shot paved the way for Daniel to serve out the opener in just 28 minutes.

Murray had been upbeat about his hopes of a deep run in the desert despite having never won the title at this tournament and he refused to allow frustration to take hold.

The Scot settled into the fight and when Daniel’s level dipped in the second set it ultimately turned into a mirror image of the opener with Murray dominating and luring errors.

A double break saw Murray charge into a 5-0 lead before a surprising lull as he looked to serve it out allowed Daniel to delay the inevitable.

Again Murray reset brilliantly in the face of disappointment and he rampantly broke to love just moments later to force a third set.

The British wildcard recently announced a third link-up with coach Ivan Lendl and it was hard not to wonder about the Czech’s influence on this performance despite his absence court side.

Murray has openly lamented his lack of consistency and it was again on show here as he almost undid all of his hard work in Set 2 by being easily broken in the first game of the decider.

Daniel led the way until Game 6 when he choked on a serve and allowed Murray to up the ante and level matters on the second of two break points.

Murray then saved what proved to be a crucial break point at 4-4 with a bold second serve and somehow dug out the hold to heap the pressure on his opponent.

The qualifier from Japan buckled at the key moment and Murray prevailed on his third match point to book a second round clash with number 31 seed Alexander Bublik.

Watch Murray's final moments at Australian Open 2022 after defeat to Daniel

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