INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray remained unbeaten this season in matches that go to a deciding third or fifth set by coming back to beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6–7 (5), 6–1, 6–4 across more than three hours in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, March 9.
Murray, a 35-year-old who has an artificial hip, faced a pair of break points while serving at 15–40 and already trailing 4–3 in the final set. Convert either of those chances, and Etcheverry would have served for the victory.
But 2009 Indian Wells runner-up Murray managed to hold there, beginning a three-game, match-ending run against Etcheverry, a 21-year-old from Argentina who is ranked 61st after reaching the final of a tournament in Santiago, Chile, last week….