OUR STAR IS REBORN!
Okay, so it’s not the US Open but at least Andy has returned to winning ways...
ANDY MURRAY took just 42 minutes last night to register his first singles win since his second hip operation in January.
A healthy crowd flocked to the main court of Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca to see the 32-year-old defeat 17-year-old French unknown Imran Sibille 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of a Challenger event offering £50,000 in prize money.
Although Murray is currently ranked 329th in the world, his teenage opponent does not even have an ATP ranking and stands at equal 2,792nd on the International Tennis Federation’s system.
The match was so comfortable for the former world No1 — against a player who had not played at this professional level before — that he almost appeared to give away the one game he lost after taking the first 11.
‘It was good, it’s nice to get back on the court playing matches again,’ said Murray. ‘It’s nice so many people came out to watch. It’s a brilliant place to play tennis and great conditions.’
The three-time major winner is competing in the secondtier tour for the first time since 2005. He has decided to drop down a level to gain more matches, having shelved his doubles partnerships and eschewed the chance to play at the US Open.
It was Murray’s only singles victory this year aside from the first round of the Brisbane International in early January, and the first since the insertion of a metal hip which he hopes will permit him to have a few more years playing in the sport’s toughest format.
The Scot, who expects to return to the ATP Tour in China later this month, should be given a more stringent examination in the next round when he plays world No115 Norbert Gombos of Slovakia.
‘It’ll be a tough match, against the third seed,’ he said. ‘He made the quarterfinals of the ATP tour in Washington a few weeks ago. It’ll be a good test for me.’
It’s all a far cry from the buzz of Flushing Meadows, where Murray won his first Grand Slam in 2012 while attracting a celebrity following including the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Sean Connery and James Corden.
Now Jo Konta is hoping a little stardust might boost her chances at the US Open, too, after a chance meeting with Tom Hiddleston at a Manhattan hotel saw the British actor take a seat in her guest box yesterday. Hiddleston is on Broadway with the play Betrayal and was invited along for support after their unexpected encounter. It did Konta no harm as she kicked off with an impressive 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Daria Kasatkina.
‘We only met a few days ago and he turns out to be a big tennis fan, so I invited him down and he brought some of his co-stars,’ said the British No1. ‘I had some of my friends there as well, so I had a lot of great support in the box, it was good.’ This was an important victory for Konta, keen to avoid a repeat of 2017 when her run to the Wimbledon semis was followed by a dip in form later on in the season.
This summer, she made the last four of the French Open followed by the quarters at SW19, but arrived here having lost in the first round of her last two tournaments.
Next up is another Russian player, world No61 Margarita Gasparyan.
Harriet Dart was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Romania’s world No 152 Ana Bogdan but there were no problems for Dan Evans, who enjoyed an excellent 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.