Miracle man! Andy Murray saves five match points to deny Jiri Lehecka a maiden ATP final in Doha

It’s only February and Andy Murray has already won three contests from match point down.

On Friday in Doha, the former world No. 1 produced his biggest comeback of them all. Murray staved off five match points to prevent Jiri Lehecka from reaching his first career ATP final by prevailing, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (6).

"That was one of the most amazing turnarounds I've had in my career," Murray said afterwards on court.

His five match point saves:

• 3-5, 30-40: Lehecka pushed a backhand down the line long during an extended rally.
• 3-5, Ad-out: Lehecka framed a second-serve forehand return.

Murray's heroics escalated in the following game, when Lehecka led 40-0 to put three more chances to close on his racquet.

• 4-5, 0-40: Murray’s inside-out forehand had too much heat behind it and Lehecka found the net.
• 4-5, 15-40: Lehecka went for the serve and volley. Murray’s backhand stab return was kept short and low, causing the Czech to play a difficult half volley. It sat enough for Murray to lace a backhand down the line and draw a forced error.
• 4-5, 30-40: Lehecka didn’t take initiative in the rally and Murray made him pay by redirecting a backhand up the line. On his back foot, Lehecka couldn’t dig out the Brit’s backhand crosscourt.

On brand, Murray's rollercoaster ride continued in the decisive tiebreaker when an early mini break lead failed to hold up. At 5-5, Murray challenged his opponent’s forehand stability with a pair of backhands up the line. It paid off in reaching his first match point of the evening, but Lehecka pulled off a backhand drop shot that tripped up Murray’s feet by the end of his sprint. Letting out his frustration with a swipe into the net, the Brit fired back with his first ace of the deciding set and shut the door when Lehecka blocked a forehand volley wide.

It's been an incredible tournament of resilience for Murray. In the first round, Lorenzo Sonego held three match points. In the second round, Murray was two points from exiting against Alexander Zverev and survived after three-plus hours of battling.

"Just laughing because, yeah, it's been an amazing sort of start to the year. I have never experienced this in my whole career, like this many matches," Murray told press.

"The way that I have played in the really important moments, in the critical moments, has shown that there is a confidence there and a belief in my game that's been missing for a while. I'm really happy about that."

The 35-year-old is the first player to reach the final of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open five times, previously triumphing in 2008-09. Murray now awaits the winner of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev.