An emotional Andy Murray made a winning comeback on Tuesday, approaching Queen’s second round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire.
The former five-time champion took a wildcard in the ATP 500 event in London, his first singles tournament since March, but only needed 64 minutes to seal the victory before fighting back tears on the court.
Murray didn’t face a straight-set breaking point against Pair in his first turf singles match since 2018 – he won the doubles title at Queen’s in 2019 with Feliciano Lopez.
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The 34-year-old Scot, who suffers from a groin injury, had a nervous moment when he got on all fours early in the game.
However, the former world number one rose to his feet and easily handled whatever Paire threw at him, securing his first grass singles victory since 2018.
Murray, who has suffered injuries in recent years, later admitted his groin caused him some discomfort, but said it didn’t affect his performance.
“I love to play tennis,” he said, tears of emotion rising in his eyes during an interview on the field. “Obviously the competition is the reason you put in all the hard work.
“Over the past few years I haven’t been able to do this as much as I would have liked so it’s great that I’m here and able to compete again.
“The body is old, but I did pretty well today in terms of movement and stuff.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion, who slipped to 124th in the world, said he was delighted to be back on the pitch.
“There are doubts and stuff before you go out, but after the first few games it’s less about your body and your head and more about the game and trying to win,” he said.
“I felt pretty calm on the pitch because the grass is a very natural surface for me and I’m comfortable on it.”
A much bigger test awaits Murray in the second round in the form of world number nine and seed Matteo Berrettini.
Berrettini beat compatriot Stefano Travaglia, needing two tie-breaks to win.
“It will be a great test for me,” said Murray.
“Berrettini is a top player and comes here after having had a very good French Open.”
Murray has said he will watch France play Germany at Euro 2020 with his rivals, who are all in a coronavirus bubble with him.
“It’s something we all need to do together and enjoy rather than being in your hotel room from six at night until nine in the morning,” he said.
“But it was not a pleasant day as a Scotsman yesterday (the Scots lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic).”
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