The former world no. 1 raised his racket tiredly in the air after his first win back on the ATP Tour just seven months after the hip operation which he feared might end his career.
It may have taken him three sets against Tennys Sandgren, a man who beat him in straight sets just five weeks ago.
But with the British star firing in a 135mph ace and chasing down drop-shots like the old days, who knows what he can still go on to achieve in the game.
“It was a tough, tough match with some very hard games in the first set. I had a match point in the second and I think I did well to come back in the third because it was very humid,” he said.
“But I am very pleased to get through.”
Murray’s 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win eventually came in 2 hr 36 min and despite his lack of match fitness, Murray was even able to crank things up a notch in the deciding set.
Murray’s 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 win took 2 hr 36 min and came after he squandered his first match point in the second set tie-break.
In the end, it was Sandgren who needed medical attention as Murray was even able to crank things up a notch in the deciding set.
His opponent was only the world no. 68 and it is important not to get too carried away. Certainly, Murray himself will not be.
On paper, this was a comfortable rather than a stunning victory in the opening round of the Zhuhai Championships in China.
But after the last two years of torture, Murray will be more than happy to take “comfortable” for now.
And tucked in among the detail was the devilment of an amazing array of shots he produced in the fourth game of the second set to leave his opponent shaking his head, literally a broken man after 13 deuces.
There was some early rush to shake off but the Murray serve contained more venom than it has done in a while, even on a slow court, and the Scot’s determination to get onto the front foot was putting his opponent under pressure all the time.
He broke Sandgren in the first set with his greater precision and some dishearteningly strong service holds.
Perhaps he was guilty of cruising through the second-set, too, and his failure to finish off his opponent cost him when Sandgren snatched a closely-contested tie-break.
The third set, though – when tiredness might have taken its grip – was all Murray’s.
He was leaping inside the baseline again to return Sandgren’s serve, fist-pumps firing him through each game.
The American was broken in his first service game and fought with his back to the wall to save the second as Murray produced his full array of shots, each more exquisite than the last.
This though, was as close as you can get to the Murray of old and he was not going to let him off the hook. If anything, he was toying with him. A second match point came and went. And a third.
But not the fourth. One final serve and put-away volley and Sandgren was finally put out of his misery.
For Murray and his long term prospects, however, it now becomes all about the recovery.
His opponent was only the world no. 68 and it is important not to get too carried away. Certainly, Murray himself will not be.
