Andy Murray’s comeback gathers pace with fine win over Alexander Zverev

Western & Southern Open: Murray beats world No 7 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Johanna Konta goes through, Dan Evans beaten by Milos Raonic

Andy Murray produced his biggest win since undergoing a second hip surgery, by recovering from 4-5 down in the final set against world No 7 Alexander Zverev to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open. The turbulent 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win marked the Scot’s first top-10 victory since he beat Kei Nishikori in the quarter-final of the 2017 French Open and his best since he triumphed over Novak Djokovic in the 2016 World Tour Finals.

After a scrappy first-round win over Frances Tiafoe, Murray had pointed out that his expectations in New York were zero. All players are simultaneously returning from a long period of inactivity at the same time, but Murray had not competed since November 2019 and spent much of the past 10 months away from the court as he focused on strengthening his hip. For Murray, the most important part of these matches is learning about how his body reacts to another return to top level competition.