Andy Murray said it was “very difficult” to adjust to the humid conditions in China after racing to the Zhuhai Championships following a successful Davis Cup week at home. The world No 41 still came through his opening match with a straightforward 7-5 6-3 victory over Chinese wildcard Ye Cong Mo. But Murray claimed it was tough to take in air as he was also seen using an ice towel throughout the match.
The 36-year-old had a quick turnaround between the Davis Cup and the ATP 250 event in Zhuhai. On Sunday, Britain booked their spot in the Final 8 after winning the group stage at home in Manchester. It went down to the wire, with Dan Evans and Neal Skupski taking it in a final set tiebreak in the doubles against France. Murray was on the bench to celebrate donning a bright bucket hat, having won his singles match against Leandro Riedi earlier in the week.
After hot-footing it to Zhuhai, he needed less than two hours to dispatch Mo but admitted that the conditions made things tough. “It was very hard,” the seventh seed explained. “You know, we came from playing indoors back home where it was quite cold and here it’s very difficult. The humidity makes it very hard to get air in after the long points. I found it tough.”
Addressing the crowd, Murray added: “It’s been a long time since I’ve been back here. Look I’ve always enjoyed playing in China, I’ve had some of my best results here, played some of my best tennis.”
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Murray was back in Zhuhai after four years, with tennis returning to China for the first time since 2019. In his last appearance at the event, the Brit was ranked down at No 413 in the world as he continued his return from hip resurfacing surgery and used a protected ranking to enter the tournament.
There, he lost to eventual champion and seven seed Alex de Minaur in the second round. Four years later, it was Murray who was the No 7 seed in Zhuhai, now sitting at 41st in the rankings. The Brit was the clear favourite in his opening match, taking on young wildcard Mo.
But the world No 668 held his own in a tight first set that lasted 57 minutes. After saving a break point in his opening service game, Mo held his own and neither man could get a look at the other’s serves until Murray found himself leading 6-5. A costly mistake from the 23-year-old gave the Brit a triple set point but he only needed one, taking it 7-5.
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It was the 36-year-old who was in trouble early on in the second set, immediately going 0-40 down. Murray saved two more break points across his first two service games of the set to lead 2-1 and kicked into life as it was his turn to lead 0-40 on the Mo serve again and he broke to put himself within touching distance of the second round.
The break proved crucial, as Murray served out a 7-5 6-3 victory after an hour and 42 minutes to advance to the second round. He will now face Aslan Karatsev. The world No 63 won their only previous match in the final of Sydney back in 2022.
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