Alex de Minaur now 5-0 against Andy Murray thanks to three match point saves in Beijing

Alex de Minaur remained undefeated against Andy Murray on Thursday thanks to a terrific comeback effort in the first round of Beijing’s China Open.

Down 2-5 in the third set, De Minaur would save a total of three match points en route to denying the former world No. 1, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (6). The Australian is now 5-0 against Murray, which includes three wins across three different surfaces this season.

“We probably both didn’t bring our best level today. It was an absolute scrap-fest,” De Minaur assessed afterwards. “It wasn’t pretty but I’m happy I was able to get my first win probably in a very long time when I saved some match [points].”

De Minaur bailed himself out of trouble the first two times on his serve in the eighth game of the deciding set on non-consecutive points. At 30-40, he fired an ace down the T. Minutes later, Murray netted a forehand in an extended rally to miss his second opportunity. The 36-year-old then dropped serve at 15 when serving for the match.

In the tie-break, De Minaur led 5-2 only to see the Brit snag four successive points. With a match point on his racquet, Murray sprayed his serve +1 crosscourt forehand wide. That shot proved to be his downfall, as a forehand unforced error on the next point saw Murray hammer his racquet into the court and another miscue off that side followed to end the clash.

In the second round, De Minaur awaits the winner of world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev and Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul. The Sydney native began this tournament at No. 11 in the race to Turin as he bids to punch an inaugural ticket to the ATP Finals.

Murray fell to 15-14 on the season in tour-level contests.