Murray hopes battling win in Qatar is sign of things to come
Andy Murray snapped a sixmatch losing streak last night as he beat Alexandre Muller 6-1 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Qatar Open.
The 36-year-old held his nerve in a tight second-set tie-break to secure his first win since October 2023 and renew hopes of a late career swansong.
Victory over the world No 75 seemed imperative if Murray was to continue to quell retirement talk and progress in a tournament in which he reached the final last year.
He eased into a 3-0 lead against the French qualifier and spurned two break points for a 4-0 advantage before a brief interruption as he sought treatment for an apparent knee injury.
Murray showed few ill effects as he completed a one-sided first set but Muller became more aggressive at the start of the second and sought to capitalise on his opponent's restricted movement.
The Scot fought off a series of break points before grabbing a break of his own with his first opportunity in the seventh game, only to surrender his lead immediately and allow Muller to haul back level.
Muller held the advantage for much of the tie-break and looked set to level the match when he led 5-3, but Murray dug deep to reel off four points in a row and seal victory and set up a second-round clash with 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
Murray said on court: "The last few months have been tough on court for me. I've clearly not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones as well.
"I'm proud I managed to get through the match and get another win, happy for my team who have been working hard trying to find solutions. Hopefully this is the start of a better run."
Murray continued: "It was getting tight at the end there as well, so delighted to get through. So many people came out to watch for a first round, which is brilliant.”
In Brazil, meanwhile, Cameron Norrie hit the ground running at the Rio Open, defeating Bolivian player Hugo Dellien 6-3 6-2.
In an impressive performance, the world No 23 saved the only break point he faced as he breezed into the second round in one hour and 21 minutes.
In his on-court interview after the match, Norrie said he was happy with how he bounced back after a firstround exit in Argentina last week.
He said: "I served much better than last week, and I was a bit more patient and knew I had to play point for point and really make the rallies a bit longer.
"I think I learned from last week with that, and just happy to be back in Brazil."
Norrie will face Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera next, after the world No 120 beat Brazilian wild card Gustavo Heide 7-5 6-3.
Norrie won the top prize at last year's Rio Open, defeating world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
There was more British success in Mexico as Dan Evans beat fifth seed Roman Safiullin 6-2 6-4.
Evans was denied an all-british meeting in the last 16, however, as Jack Draper was beaten in three sets by Australian Thanasis Kokkinakis in a hardfought contest.
Draper took the first set but the Australian hit back to win 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-4.