Passing 500 mark is Andy’s single aim

BEFORE getting married next week, there are a couple of things that Andy Murray would still like to achieve in what is his last tournament as a single man. The most immediate goal is to pass the milestone of 500 career victories, something he is within one win of doing after comfortably beating Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Miami Open. He can manage that tomorrow if he successfully defuses the huge serving power of giant South African Kevin Anderson, as he now stands on 499 not out. Should Murray survive that encounter, then it is possible he could edge ahead of Rafael Nadal and move back up to No 3 in the rankings, although that depends on the performances of others as well as himself. Going past 500 is something nobody can take away from him and it will stand as huge testament to his consistency at the top of the game. Since tennis went ‘Open’ in 1968 — the old barriers between amateurs and professionals torn down to make a unified circuit — only 46 men have racked up that many wins — an average neatly of one per year. Only nine who are currently active have managed it. No British player in that time has managed to do it, with Tim Henman calling time on his own career when within four of the mark. ‘It’s nice because when you see the list of players who have won this many matches, there aren’t too many,’ said Murray (below). ‘Even if it doesn’t happen in a couple of days then, at some stage, I’m sure I will get there. I obviously want to win more and, hopefully, I still have quite a few years ahead of me to add to that number. It’s not easy in this era to win that many matches, so it’s a good sign.’

History: Murray is on the brink of a 500th win 24 of Murray’s victories have come so far at this event, making it his most productive Masters level tournament outside the four Grand Slams. Factors like it being a familiar training base, with the Scot having a home only three miles away from this Key Biscayne island site, and the tendency for it to be windy, have all contributed to that. After two days of unsettled weather that have hardly enhanced South Florida’s reputation for reliable sunshine, it was a regulation glorious morning as he kicked off the day’s programme against Giraldo, one of the steady trickle of decent players to come out of Colombia in recent times. The world No 27 is the kind who shows that racking up the wins on the ATP Tour is hardly straightforward. He gives the ball an almighty biff from the back court, but was slowly picked apart by Murray’s clever mix of angles and spin. The Scot definitely looks a much better player than he did a year ago — although the tendency towards the odd lapse in concentration is still evident and, at times, costly. He let the South American, as usual enjoying good support in this part of the world, creep back from 5-1 down in the second but then served it out at the second time of asking.