Andy Murray equals Jimmy Connors' tally of hardcourt wins, closes gap on Rafael Nadal in list for most wins on the surface

Andy Murray clinched his 489th career win on hardcourts with another miraculous recovery on Friday. He beat Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) in the semifinals of the 2023 Qatar Open, and in the process equalled Jimmy Connors' hardcourt win tally.

Murray is now just one win away from sole ownership of fifth place on the list of most hardcourt wins in the Open Era. The Brit has also closed the gap on fourth-placed Rafael Nadal, who currently has 516 career wins on the surface.

The only non-Big 4 player inside the top 5 on the list is Andre Agassi, who stands in third place with 592 wins on hardcourts. Novak Djokovic, who has 667 wins on the surface and stands second, is also rapidly adding to his tally.

However, Roger Federer is expected to hold on to the top spot for a while, with a staggering 783 hardcourt wins to his name.

Andy Murray will be looking for his 47th career singles title, and 35th on hardcourts, when he takes on third seed Daniil Medvedev in the Qatar Open final on Saturday. Murray is also searching for his first title since 2019, when he won the European Open in Antwerp.

The three-time Grand Slam champion saved five match points to beat Lehecka in Friday's semi-final contest. All four of his matches so far have gone the distance, and three of those matches have finished either 7-6 or 7-5 in the deciding set.

"Amazing start to the year, never experienced this in my whole career" - Andy Murray after reaching Qatar Open final

Andy Murray in action at the 2023 Australian Open.

All six of Andy Murray's wins this season have come in the deciding set, and he has saved match points on multiple occasions. Apart from the ongoing Qatar Open, the Brit also pulled off a couple of improbable victories at the Australian Open last month.

Reflecting on his memorable start to the 2023 season, Murray joked on Friday that he was still in disbelief over the matches he has recently been involved in. He also stated that he had never experienced such a string of matches before.

"Yeah, just laughing because, yeah, it's been an amazing sort of start to the year. I have never experienced this in my whole career, like this many matches," Andy Murray said in his press conference after the semi-final win.

"You know, talking about it yesterday in the press, like, you know, at some stage, you know, there is going to be a quicker one or whatever."

Murray has faced his Qatar Open final opponent Daniil Medvedev twice before, with the Russian player winning both matches in straight sets. The last time they faced each other was at the Miami Open last year, where Medvedev triumphed 6-4, 6-2.