Points won by each set: [ 43-44, 55-53, 27-15 ]
Points won directly on serve:
31 % Murray – 36 of 116
21 % Kohlschreiber – 26 of 121
The longest tie-break – one of tennis mysteries: official record (20/18) was established in 1973, and it’s really tough to comprehend how it’s possible that despite of raquets development over the decades, allowing to serve faster and get points easier, it’s been unbroken for 45 years. Murray [1] & Kohlschreiber [29] became the sixth pair to equal the “wooden raquet” record… Murray was optically a bit better in the opener, he had BP at 3:2, led 4:2* in the tie-break when the German risked his second serve (160 kph) to obtain ten points in a row! The Scot broke at 1-all in the 2nd set, led 5:3, but Kohli put himself in front 6:5* (15/0). The second tie-break lasted 31 minutes (!), and Murray fought off seven match points (two on return) to finally convert his 8th set point. First, he lost four set points (6:4, *7:6 & 8:7) to save those match points this way:
*8:9… 15-stroke rally he finishes with a perfect FH dropshot (!)
*10:11… Kohli almost wins the match with his attempt to play a BH down the line winner on stroke no. 8
*12:13… 204 kph service winner on BH
13:14*… 12-stroke rally finished with an overhead (approach shot very close to the corner of the court)
*14:15… second serve on the line forces Kohli’s BH error
15:16*… BH error in just 3rd stroke, poor shot selection
*16:17… 197 kph service winner on BH
On Murray’s eighth set point, Kohlschreiber sends his FH wide, the Scot has just won one of the most amazing tie-breaks in history & reacts like nothing happened… In the 3rd set he saves a break point at 1-all with an ace and it initiates an anticlimactic end – Murray grabs the final five games. For now Murray has won five consecutive matches against Kohlschreiber, all of them in deciding sets, three times in dramatic circumstances, twice in the ‘best of three’ format #
Longest 2nd set tie-breaks in the “best of three” matches:
Dubai 2017: Andy Murray d. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-7, 7-6(18), 6-1
Auckland 2020: Marco Cecchinato d. Leonardo Mayer 7-6, 6-7(18), 7-6 *
Queens Club 2017: Gilles Muller d. Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-7(17), 6-4 *
Queens Club 2016: Gilles Muller d. John Isner 3-6, 7-6(16), 7-6
Milan 2004: Gregory Carraz d. Karol Beck 6-4, 6-7(14), 7-6 *
Indian Wells 2006: Igor Andreev d. Robin Soderling 3-6, 7-6(14), 6-4
New York 2019: Reilly Opelka d. John Isner 6-7, 7-6(14), 7-6
Atlanta 2017: Malek Jaziri d. Reilly Opelka 5-7, 7-6(14), 6-1
Athens 1994: Francisco Clavet d. Javier Sanchez 5-7, 7-6(13), 6-4
Munich 1998: Pepe Imaz d. Marzio Martelli 4-6, 7-6(13), 7-5
Toronto 1998: Guillermo Canas d. Grant Stafford 2-6, 7-6(13), 6-2
Doha 1999: Tim Henman d. Jeff Tarango 6-4, 6-7(13), 6-4 *
Kitzbuhel 2004: Rainer Schuettler d. Andreas Seppi 3-6, 7-6(13), 6-0
Doha 2014: Dustin Brown d. Ivo Karlovic 3-6, 7-6(13), 6-4
Montreal 2015: Jeremy Chardy d. John Isner 6-7, 7-6(13), 7-6
Toronto 2021: Stefanos Tsitsipas d. Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-7(13), 6-1 *
Doha 2022: Aslan Karatsev d. Dan Evans 6-3, 6-7(13), 6-3 *
* to win the set but to lose the match