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World No. 120 Taro Daniel was absolutely thrilled after stunning three-time Grand Slam champiion Andy Murray at the Australian Open. Daniel, who won three qualifying matches to earn a main draw place at Melbourne Park, saw off former world No.
1 Murray 6-4 6-4 6-4 to reach the third round at the Australian Open. Daniel clinched the biggest win of his career in 2018 when he stunned 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the Indian Wells Masters second round.
Daniel said the Murray win is up there with the one over Djokovic. "I think this victory is up there with the one with Djokovic in Indian Wells, but I feel like today I played better, and the kind of tennis I played today was the kind of tennis I would like to aspire or keep it, like this is my level and keep building on that," Daniel said after the win, per Ravi Ubha.
Daniel respects Murray
Murray underwent two major hip surgeries but refused to quit. After returning to tour, Murray was clearly not the player he once was. At some point, Murray went to play on the Challenger tour. Daniel was impressed and amazed by Murray's passion for the game.
“It’s always crazy to imagine what a person who’s gone through that heavy of an injury has to go through mentally; how much are you going to keep damaging your body? That’s the question I’ve asked myself,” Daniel told Eurosport.
“But it’s amazing because you can see how much passion he has for the game and how and how much he’s willing to go through to just keep playing. And he doesn’t seem to care if he’s not top 10 or top 100 or whatever.
“He was playing Challengers last year, which was amazing, I thought that was crazy; a lot of respect for that."