Andy Murray returns to singles play with new hip.

MASON, Ohio — Andy Murray smiled as he walked off the court after a brisk practice session, pain-free and moving better all the time. Retirement? Out of mind for now.

Instead, the three-time major champion is back to playing singles at a Masters event.

Murray is the first-day focus at the Western & Southern Open. A painful exit at the Australian Open left him thinking the end of his career was in sight. He had a second hip operation in January that implanted metal, eliminated the pain and totally changed his outlook.

His against-the-odds comeback takes another step when he faces Richard Gasquet in the first round today. A lot of challenges remain before he’s ready to play at a high level again.

“That’s the situation I’m in, and I would have signed up for being in this position I’m in six months ago, absolutely,” said Murray, wearing a shirt that said “BELIEVE” across the front. “Hopefully it makes for some exciting early round matches.”

Once the surgery eliminated the hip pain that had hobbled him for a long time, the 32-yearold Murray chose to make a comeback. He played doubles in several tournaments, including Wimbledon with Serena Williams and the Citi Open with brother Jamie.

After practicing singles the past few weeks, Murray felt good enough to give it a go. The Western & Southern Open offered him a wild-card slot, and he’ll use the tournament near Cincinnati as a gauge.

“I have zero pain,” Murray said. “I’m not expecting to be moving as well as I used to, but I still think I can probably move better than I am now. But that will take time. I started playing singles a couple weeks ago.

“There’s still some improvement to come from my hip operation as well. So in the next few months, I’ll build up to that.”