'You don't often see that!' - Andy Murray looks on baffled after bizarre Nikoloz Basilashvili moment

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 18/01/2022 at 06:28 GMT

Andy Murray, who is a wildcard for the event he has five times been the runner-up at, watched on in bewilderment and turned to see a serve from his opponent, Nikoloz Basilashvili, zoom way above his head and beyond him. "Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Barry Cowan, on commentary for Eurosport at the time. "You don't often see that! Six runs! That is not going to give you a lot of confidence."

Andy Murray was left very surprised in a strange moment as Nikoloz Basilashvili sliced a wild serve into the crowd during their Australian Open match.

Basilashvili, who had the Melbourne Park crowd very much against him, lost his technique and/or his composure with a delivery you rarely ever see from a professional tennis player.

At the start of his second service game on John Cain Arena, Basilashvili completely failed to make contact with the ball besides the top of the frame of his racquet.

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Accompanied by cheers and jeers from the vociferous crowd, he watched on in embarrassment as the ball flew into the stands at a very unusual angle.

Murray, who is a wildcard for the event he has five times been the runner-up at, watched on in bewilderment and turned to see the ball zoom way above his head and beyond him.

"Oh, my goodness!" exclaimed Barry Cowan, on commentary for Eurosport at the time.

"You don't often see that! Six runs! That is not going to give you a lot of confidence now, is it?"

'Settles early nerves' - Murray gets first game on board in Melbourne opener

Murray enjoyed his finest week of tennis in years in Australia prior to the main draw at Melbourne Park as he made an unexpected run to the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic final, his first ATP final since 2019.

Although he was outclassed in the final by Russian Aslan Karatsev, who saw off the former world No. 1 6-3 6-3, the Brit was able to come to Melbourne full of confidence ahead of his first-round match.

Murray, who had to spend much of the lead-up to the tournament having to comment on the Novak Djokovic deportation saga, was roared on by the crowd on John Cain Arena as a very popular player in Australia.

Former British tennis star Johanna Konta told Eurosport ahead of his campaign at the season’s first Grand Slam that Murray has every chance of making a strong run at Melbourne Park.

"He’s gotten some matches under his belt," Konta said. "Ever since he’s come back from his injury he’s got more consistent, the more he’s playing, the more he’s training.

"I actually feel he’s got a good opportunity to go deep and make it to the very last stages, who knows. The fourth round, the quarters, it’s possible.

"The possibility is always there. It's important to remember there’s a whole field of other players striving for the same thing. It's never going to be a simple equation for him to do, but for Andy he’s always giving himself the best chance of doing that.

"That’s what he’s striving to do, to be in the latter stages of the Slam, to win another Slam one day. There’s every possibility, it depends on how the body holds up on a consistent basis.”

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