After more than three months of absence, Scottish tennis player Andy Murray returned to competition this Tuesday at the Queen’s tournament with a resounding victory over Frenchman Benoit Paire, whom he defeated in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
The 34-year-old former world number 1 has only played two tournaments this season due to hip problems that have affected him in recent seasons and that even led him to think about retirement.
In Rotterdam, Murray (current ranking number 124) lost to Russian Andrey Rublev on March 3 and since then only played the doubles tournament in Rome in May, alongside Spanish Feliciano López.
Murray won the Queen’s tournament five times in the past, which traditionally serves to prepare for Wimbledon, and in the second round he will play against the first seed of the tournament, the Italian Matteo Berrettini, one of the most fit players on the circuit and recent quarter-finalist at Roland Garros.
“My body is old, but today I played quite well in terms of movement,” said Murray after the game, his first on grass in three years.
“I have only played two or three sets in training to prepare for this tournament. I did not know exactly how I was going to play or how I would feel, but for a first game it is quite good, “added the double Wimbledon champion (2013 and 2016) and current Olympic champion.
“I love playing tennis,” he said movingly, recalling the past years of suffering from injuries. “Obviously you work hard to compete and in recent years I have not done as I would have liked, but it is great to be here and to be able to compete again.”
In addition to Berrettini, three of the top seeds, Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, Australia’s Alex de Miñaur and Britain’s Daniel Evans, also qualified for the second round.
The Queen’s tournament is one of the preparatory ones for Wimbledon, it is played on grass and distributes $ 1,730,000 in prizes. (AFP)