January 20, (THEWILL) – Andy Murray has been eliminated from the Australian Open after losing in straight sets to Taro Daniel, which sees Daniel produce a career-best performance to reach the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, winning 6-4 6-4 6-4.
While Murray struggled to make an impression in the first two sets, Daniel, who had never advanced past the second round of a Grand Slam before, wowed the crowd with a series of exceptionally flat and ferocious forehands down the line.
The 28-year-old, who is ranked 120th in the world, has only won one ATP title in his career, but he stunned Murray, who was not helped by a partisan crowd cheering him on as the qualifier shocked the tennis world.
Daniel was not intimidated by an experienced and in-form Murray and resiliently fought a protracted battle with increasingly frequent extended rallies. He broke the Brit five times and had a strong serving performance, winning nearly 80% of first-serve points.
Murray had a hard time converting his break opportunities, taking only two out of eleven in the entire encounter. Even as he began to tire after winning the second set 6-4, Daniel was able to propel himself into a two-set lead.
The Brit got off to a strong start in the third set, breaking Daniel in his first service game, but a soft break concession allowed his opponent to re-establish on-serve parity.
But that was Murray’s pinnacle moment, as a back-and-forth, protracted third set began to favour Daniel. The younger player advanced to the third round with a game of triumph, adventurously securing it with a serve and volley, eyes widening in amazement and excitement as he overcame the three-time major champion in straight sets.
Daniel had advanced through qualifying without losing a set and he defeated Tomas Barrios in his first match in the main event. With Italian rising star Jannik Sinner as his next likely opponent, the 28-year-old may be able to rely on his qualifying performances, as each of his three preliminary round opponents were also Italian.
Later on Thursday, Sinner will battle American veteran Steve Johnson to actually determine Daniel’s opponent.
The defeat means Murray has not advanced past the second round of the season-opening Grand Slam in five years.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
