Andy Murray will make his return in Beijing this week – four years after the tournament was last staged. The Asian swing has returned to the tennis calendar in full for the first time since 2019. And Murray is now worlds away from the player he was last time he contested the China Open. At the time, the Brit was just months out of surgery, sitting outside of the top 500 and needing a protected ranking to enter. He has since been ranked as high as No 36 in the world and picked up titles on the ATP and Challenger Tours.
Murray had only just made his return to singles competition when he competed at the China Open four years ago. The 36-year-old underwent hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019, returning to the doubles court in June and the singles in August
He was ranked at No 503 in the world coming into Beijing and had just three singles wins at tour level and Challenger level since his surgery. In the first round, he stunned eighth seed Matteo Berrettini before following it up with victory over compatriot Cameron Norrie, losing to eventual champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-final.
It was a strong showing that saw Murray climb to No 289 in the world and springboarded him to go on and win the title in Antwerp later that season. When the three-time Major champion returns to Beijing this week, he will be back as a completely different player.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news
Just in Federer denied new role as retired star being made to wait after sharing wish[LATEST]
Murray will be back at No 40 in the world when the rankings update on Wednesday, postponed to match the schedule of the Asian swing. He comes into the tournament with 14 wins for the season, including a strong start to the year that saw him reach the final of the ATP 250 in Doha.
And the former world No 1 has also been making waves on the Challenger circuit, winning three titles this year – Aix-en-Provence, Surbiton and Nottingham. He has also earned himself a reputation as something of a marathon man for his gruelling battles throughout the year.
Murray defeated 13th seed Matteo Berrettini in five sets in his opening match. In the second round, he came from two sets down to beat Thanasi Kokkinakis in a five-hour and 45-minute epic that went on until 4.05am. He then saved eight match points during his run to the final in Doha, losing to Daniil Medvedev.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Don’t miss…
Federer missing being ‘centre of attention’ as honest retirement thoughts shared[QUOTES]
Rybakina pulls out of Tokyo Open after slamming ‘clown’ WTA over rule change[NEWS]
Roger Federer’s private opinion on Ben Shelton shared as star clinches Laver Cup[REACTION]
The Brit also came out on the losing side of some thrillers too. He was two sets to one up on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of Wimbledon when their match was suspended for the curfew over the summer. When they returned the following day, it was the world No 5 who managed to beat him.
Murray is now bidding to have a strong showing at the end of what has been an up-and-down season. When he came to Beijing in 2019, the 36-year-old was still finding his feet on the tour again post-op.
But he’s now determined to keep improving and shared his goals before last week’s tournament in Zhuhai, where he lost in the second round. “I’ve got an opportunity with these last five or six tournaments at the end of the year to have a strong finish, so that’s what I’m hoping for here,” he said.
Source: Read Full Article