"I've questioned myself, whether I could perform at the biggest events" - Andy Murray admits nightmares of self-doubt after Australian Open win

After his majestic first-round victory at the 2023 Australian Open on Tuesday, Andy Murray reflected on the extremely difficult last few years, where he has had to fight various injuries.

In his first-round clash against last year's semifinalist, Matteo Berrettini at the Rod Laver Arena, the Scot came back from a match point down to beat him 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7(7), 7-6(6) in four hours and 49 minutes. The last time the two players faced each other was in the third round of the 2022 US Open, when the Italian player won in four sets. Berrettini still leads the head-to-head 3-2 against Murray.

The 35-year-old from the United Kingdom has tasted significant success on the tour ever since turning pro in 2005. However, he has also struggled with numerous injuries throughout his career, especially in the last few years. The former World No. 1 played at the 2022 US Open with a metal hip.

When asked about his emotions after a massive win against 14th-ranked Berrettini, Murray stated that a lot of people, including himself, questioned his ability to perform at the highest level over the last few years.

"I think the last few years, I've certainly questioned myself at times," Andy Murray said. "There's certainly a lot of people questioning me and my ability, whether I could still perform at the biggest events and the biggest matches. Yeah, I felt very proud of myself after the match. That's not something that I generally felt over the years at the end of tennis matches."

The three-time Major winner added that although he was generally hard on himself, he was proud and deserved credit for the way he fought against Berrettini.

"I'm proud of the work that I've put in the last few months. I'm really proud of how I fought through that match in the end. I'm hard on myself, usually. Tonight, I need to give myself some credit because the last few years have been tough," he added.

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Matteo Berrettini lauds Andy Murray's love for tennis

Matteo Berrettini (L) and Andy Murray

Despite a heartbreaking five-set loss against Andy Murray in the first round of the 2023 Australian Open, Matteo Berrettini didn't shy away from praising his opponent. The Italian was just one point away from winning but an unforced error allowed the Scot to crawl his way back into the match.

In a press conference after the match, Berrettini showered praise on the World No. 66, saying that he was impressed with Murray, especially after battling multiple injuries in his career.

"It's impressive what he could do after so many surgeries, after all the kilometers that he ran in his career," Berrettini said. "It's impressive. It just shows how much he loves the game, how much he loves these kind of matches. He's a great champion. Personally was great to play with that atmosphere against him. Yeah, just a great match. Unfortunately, it didn't go my way."