Andy Murray produced another encouraging performance before being outlasted 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 by Australia’s Alex de Minaur in two hours and 42 minutes in the second round of the Zhuhai Championships in China.
Murray started his week by defeating the world No 69, Tennys Sangdren, 6-3, 6-7 (1), 6-1 to record his first victory since hip resurfacing surgery in January, but it was immediately clear De Minaur’s pace and intensity would present a far greater, more physical test. By the third game, Murray’s shirt was soaked through, nearly 30 minutes were on the clock and the Australian was up a break at 2-1.
There have been questions about how the Scot would attempt to play in his comeback, whether he would try to streamline his game and play with more aggression to compensate for his diminished movement. Murray answered them during the first set by playing precisely as he always does, deadening points with his slice and patiently opening up De Minaur’s defence. Murray broke the No 31 back for 3-3 before making a definitive move at 5-4, 15-15, with a sparkling lob over his opponent’s head.
Since his return to singles competition in August, Murray has made it clear he is starting from scratch and that any progress will take time. With his hip and the muscles around it still healing and strengthening, he is still far from top speed, and after adapting his technique for so long to compensate for his painful hip, he is still rediscovering what it is like to play with freedom. The signs were encouraging on Thursday as he constantly chased down drop shots, defended the Australian’s biggest blows and read the game as fluently as ever.
However, it was also clear what he lacked. De Minaur, in the form of his life and with 40 matches in 2019, kept his intensity throughout as Murray’s form wavered. Murray started the second set with four unforced errors and then he gave away the second break at 2-4, his game unravelling. Lightning fast and consistent, De Minaur swept up every mistake to level the match.
As the gruelling contest entered a third hour, De Minaur’s confidence triumphed as he broke at 4-4 in the third set. Though Murray generated multiple break points in the final game and showed his typical defiance, the 20-year-old slammed the door shut.
For Murray, Zhuhai marks the first of four consecutive tournament weeks as he looks for matches and rhythm before the end of the season. He will next head to Beijing for the China Open, before the Shanghai Masters and the Antwerp European Open.
