In his first game of the year, Andy Murray made a winning comeback to the ATP Tour with a hard-fought 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-1 victory over Frances Tiafoe at the Western & Southern Open on Saturday.
His first appearance at an ATP Tour event since reaching his 46th place at the European Open in Antwerp in October last year, the former world number 1 saved a set point in the first set tie-break and paid via the deciding set to reserve his place in the second round after two hours and 28 minutes.
“I thought I moved well today. That was probably the thing I was most happy with and probably the thing I was most afraid to enter the game,” Murray said. “I thought I moved pretty well. My tennis could have been better. I did some things well in the end, but I could definitely improve in terms of my game.”
Murray will face World No. 7 Alexander Zverev for a place in the third round. The two-time champion (2008, ’11) holds a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record against the German, following a first-round victory against Zverev at the 2016 Open 2016.
“[Zverev has] was obviously at the top of the game for a number of years, ”Murray said. ‘It’s going to be a good test for me, sure … He’s moving well for a big boy, firmly off the ground. [He] has occasionally struggled with his storage. If he serves well, he is obviously one of the top players in the world. ”
In an opening set dominated by serve, a double error by Murray allowed Tiafoe to take a 5/2 lead in the tie-break. After fighting back in the fight, Murray was forced to save a set point behind his second save at 5/6 because Tiafoe did not find the court with his return. Two points later, Murray fired a pre-pass shot on the line to climb the set.
Like the first set, Tiafoe managed to create a single break-point chance in the second set. This time he took his chance. After dealing cross-court forehands with Murray at 4-3, Tiafoe attacked his opponent’s backhand and stepped forward to serve with a low backhand volley.
Tiafoe, who finished the game with a 17/22 success rate on the net, could not bring any momentum into the decision as Murray went on to take a 3-0 lead. The 33-year-old played with depth and capitalized on a series of mistakes by his opponent to gain a crucial advantage. Murray claimed a second service break at 4-1 with a backhand winner returning and served the match out to love to earn his 32nd victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
