Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie both progressed to the second round of the Madrid Open with respective victories on Monday, with the former getting the better of 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
Murray had initially decided to forgo the clay court season but accepted a wildcard entry into the Masters 1000 tournament, where Thiem would continue to step up his recovery from a wrist injury.
The Brit had not taken to the clay for over one and a half years but proved too strong for a 91st-ranked Thiem on the day, claiming a 6-3 6-4 victory over the Austrian.
A total of nine aces from the three-time Grand Slam winner helped him on his way to the second round in the Spanish capital, and he offered some words of encouragement for Thiem after the contest, with his opponent's recovery also delayed by COVID-19 infection last month.
Thiem was presented with three opportunities to break Murray on the day but could not take any of them, and the Brit was pleased with his showing after making an unexpected comeback on the clay surface.
"I have hardly played on it [clay] for the last five years really. I played well. I thought Dominic was playing well at times but he has obviously just started playing again as well," Murray said during his on-court interview, as quoted by BBC Sport.
© Reuters
Murray will now meet the victor of Ugo Humbert and Denis Shapovalov's battle, and a potential third-round tie with Novak Djokovic awaits the three-time Grand Slam champion.
Meanwhile, the Brits' strong start to the Masters tournament continued before Murray's triumph as Norrie battled hard to progress past South Korean qualifier Kwon Soon-woo 7-5 7-5.
A stunning forehand winner down the line saw Norrie clinch the contest after he was forced to save two set points, and the world number 11 also admitted that he was not at peak physical fitness due to illness after the victory.
"I've been a bit sick; I sound like I've smoked a pack of ciggies. But I'm feeling better every day and my energy is increasing, so the biggest thing is I was happy to even play this week, and fortunate to get a win like that against Kwon who was playing well," Norrie told Amazon Prime.
"I tried to prepare as well as I could, but he's playing well and came out flying and was really confident. It's exactly the match I needed in the first round and I am happy to get through it."
The USA's John Isner now awaits Norrie in the second round, with the 26-year-old joining Jack Draper, Dan Evans and Murray in the next stage of the tournament.
Monday's action also saw Simona Halep and Ons Jabeur set up a quarter-final meeting, with the former beating Coco Gauff 6-4 6-4 while Jabeur overcame Belinda Bencic in three sets.
Emma Raducanu returns to the court on Tuesday for her last-32 meeting with Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina, while Djokovic, Marin Cilic and Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz will also be in action.
Ben Knapton
