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Grigor Dimitrov stunningly broke four strings during his Brisbane International match against Andy Murray but still managed to escape with a win. On Monday, world No. 14 Dimitrov started his 2024 season in Brisbane with a 4-6 7-5 6-2 win over Murray.
In the very first game of the match, Dimitrov broke a string on his racket for the first time. After noticing his string was broken, Dimitrov went for a winner - his ball went out.
A bit later, Dimitrov broke his second string during a forehand shot in mid-rally. Dimitrov was thinking quickly as he went for a slice - got to the net - and made a successful shot with a broken string.
The third time Dimitrov broke a string, he also went to the net. Murray managed to return Dimitrov's volley deep into the Bulgarian's court - that's when the former world No. 3 hit a stunning smash from the baseline to win another point with a broken string.
Dimitrov broke his fourth and last string in the fourth game of the third set. This time, Dimitrov didn't win the point as his attempt to lob Murray with a broken string wasn't successful.
Broken Strings: A Series 😲@grigor_dimitrov broke FOUR strings in his match against Murray!#BrisbaneInternational pic.twitter.com/BhuH6G4AGj
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 1, 2024
Dimitrov: I was running out of rackets
After the match, Dimitrov admitted he was concerned about potentially running out of rackets. Also, Dimitrov underlined he was happy that they were not playing a best-of-five-sets match.
"I was running out. I had three more left. I was thinking about that. Luckily we were not playing best of five," Dimitrov said.
In the first set, not a single break point was seen until the 10th game - when Murray broke Dimitrov to win the opener.
After losing the first set, Dimitrov earned his first break of the match in the ninth game of the second for a 5-4 lead. Just when it looked the set was over, Dimitrov failed to serve out for the second set.
However, Dimitrov was able to hold his focus as he broke Murray again in the 11th game for a 6-5 lead. Serving for the set in his second attempt, Dimitrov saved two break points before realizing his first set point to send the match into a decider.
After winning the second set, Dimitrov started the third set with back-to-back breaks and a 4-0 lead. In the eighth game, Dimitrov saved a break point before converting his first match point to complete a comeback win over Murray.