Murray wins his 700th career match after defeating Daniel

Murray wins his 700th career match after defeating Daniel. 

INDIAN WELLS: Andy Murray won his 700th career match by defeating Taro Daniel 1-6 6-2 6-4 in the first round of Indian Wells on Friday, overcoming a poor start and a third set service break.

The victory made the Briton the 18th player on the ATP Tour to achieve the feat during the Open era.

Murray remarked in an on-court interview, “This was a goal I set for myself at the end of last year.”

“It’s a lot of wins, and I’m thrilled to have it here.

“Now, let’s go for 800.”

MORE: Raducanu says Murray’s historic win boost her at Indian Wells.

On a gorgeous day in the Southern California desert, it appeared Murray would have to wait to reach the milestone when Daniel came out firing, attacking Murray’s serve, and cruising through the opening set.

Murray, who had significant hip surgery three years ago, struggled in the first set but came alive in the second, breaking Daniel at love when the Japanese player blasted a forehand wide on set point to tie the match at one apiece.

With the help of some sloppy play by the three-time Grand Slam champion, Daniel won eight straight points to open the third and grab a 2-0 lead.

Murray, however, refused to give up, breaking back with a forehand winner for 3-3, and pumped his fist to the pleasure of the Stadium One Court crowd.

Daniel’s nerves appeared to get the best of him in the final game when he made three unforced errors in a row to give Murray three match points, which the 34-year-old scored on his third chance to seal the victory.

“I got off to a sluggish start,” Murray said.

“I’m getting old, so these 11 a.m. starts to take me a while to get going.

“Taro, on the other hand, performed admirably. I had previously lost to him in Australia, so I was anticipating a difficult battle, “Daniel, who beat Murray in straight sets in Melbourne in January, said of Murray.

A wild card in the tournament Murray will play Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Masters 1000 competition on Saturday, looking for his 701st victory.