Murray saved a match point after being badly beaten by the Italian at the US Open and later sealed a match of his own at Rod Laver Arena with spectacular luck when he cut the net cord in a ferocious finish for Berrettini.
“I got a little lucky at the end with the net cord,” said the 35-year-old Murray, a five-time finalist at Melbourne Park.
“Right now I’m incredibly happy, I’m proud of myself.”
Twelfth seed and former semi-finalist Zverev had a big scare against world No. 103 Varillas, but the German overcame a four-hour dogfight 4-6, 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(3), 6 Won by -4. at Margaret Court Arena.
It was the German’s first win since June, when he ruptured ligaments in his right foot in the French Open semifinal against Rafa Nadal.
Men’s Top 10 seeds Andre Rublev and Taylor Fritz advanced to the second round early in the day.
Russian Rublev beat former finalist Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-4 6-2 as the temperature was 36 degrees Celsius.
“It was very hot today so I am very happy that I was able to win in straight sets and save some energy for the next match,” said the fifth seed.
“The hotter it gets, the harder it is to make the right decisions, the harder it is to move forward.”
Fritz followed Rublev to the John Cain Arena and with play running on three main show courts with closed terraces, he overcame tough Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5.
