Murray notches up career 700th win

MURRAY overcame a slow start and a third set service break to beat Taro Daniel 1-6 6-2 6-4 in the first round of Indian Wells on Friday to notch his 700th career win.

With the victory, the Briton became the 18th player of the Open era to achieve the feat on the ATP Tour.

“This was a target that I set for myself on the back end of last year,” Murray said in an on-court interview.

“It’s a lot of wins obviously, and I’m very happy to get it here. Let’s go for 800 now.” It appeared Murray would have to wait to reach the milestone after Daniel came out sharp, attacking Murray’s serve and cruising through the first set on a sunny day in the Southern California desert.

Murray, who is three years removed from major hip surgery, did not move well early on but sprang to life in the second, breaking Daniel at love when the Japanese player sent a forehand wide on set point to level the match at a set each.

Daniel won eight straight points to open the third and take a 2-0 lead with help from some sloppy play by the three-time Grand Slam champion. — Reuters.