LONDON – Britain's Andy Murray triumphed in a hard-fought
return to Masters-level tennis on Monday as he rallied from a set
down to prevail 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 against Argentina's Juan Ignacio
Londero in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
Murray, who won the Shanghai title on his last appearance in 2016,
fell behind after two breaks in the first set but battled back to win
in two hours and 17 minutes.
"Since I came back to play, these are by far the fastest conditions
I've played in," said Murray.
"So I struggled early on with my movement. But it was nice to be back
and playing here again, get the win and hopefully start the next
match quicker."
Meanwhile, Croatia's Marin Cilic stumbled to a shock first round
defeat as he was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Ramos-Vinolas, who is ranked 46th in the world, broke Cilic's serve
once in each set to complete the victory in one hour and 23 minutes.
After dismissing one former grand slam champion, the 31-year-old will
go on to face 20-time major winner Roger Federer in round two.
Canada's Denis Shapovalov will take on top seed and defending
champion Novak Djokovic next after he dismissed American Frances
Tiafoe in a 6-4, 6-2 win.
Murray will have to play much more confidently in his next test
against Italian world number 12 Fabio Fognini, who conquered American
Sam Querrey 6-4, 6-2 earlier.
It was Murray's first Masters-level match since a loss to Lucas
Pouille in 2018 at the Cincinnati event before he took a break to
recover from a hip injury in January.
The three-time grand slam champion saved two break points with a pair
of aces in a tough opening service game and missed three break points
with a 2-1 lead in a nervous start.
Argentine qualifier Londero, ranked 56th in the world, eventually
broke serve first with a timely drop shot to move ahead 3-2 and
extended the gap with a comfortable service hold.
Murray faltered further with a double-fault to give Londero a second
break, which allowed his 26-year-old opponent to wrap up the first
set with an ace.
Despite being behind after a poor start, the three-time grand slam
champion Murray was undeterred and surged 3-0 ahead in the second set
en route to levelling the match.
"I had to start going for my shots a bit more," Murray said.
"Be a bit more aggressive on the return and when I did that, I got a
lot more success and created a lot of chances."
Londero conceded a break with a netted return to offer Murray a
match-winning escape at 3-1 in the third set.
However, the 32-year-old Scot couldn't consolidate that advantage
immediately as an error-strewn game saw Londero break back, but
Murray grasped a second chance by breaking again for 4-2.
A sensational forehand scoop flew across the court and brushed the
line to see Murray a game away from the second round.
At 5-3, Murray erased two break points and served out a marathon
effort for his first Masters win since Madrid in 2017.
There was more success for Britain as Cameron Norrie progressed with
a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Gilles Simon.
However, Kyle Edmund was beaten 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) by France's Jeremy
Chardy, who will play Germany's Alexander Zverev next.
Two more Frenchman advanced to the second round after Benoit Paire
dismissed Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-2, 7-5, and Gael Monfils
completed another Italian job in a 7-5, 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 triumph over
Lorenzo Sonego.