Andy Murray looked reinvigorated as he recorded a straight-sets victory over Brandon Nakashima at the Citi Open in Washington. The 36-year-old was making his first singles appearance since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of Wimbledon in July. The three-time Grand Slam winner is using the tournament as preparation for the US Open, which begins on August 28.
Andy Murray marked his first singles appearance since Wimbledon with an impressive 7-6(5) 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima to claim his place in the second round of the Citi Open in Washington.
Murray appeared in fine fettle as he looked to put a second-round Wimbledon defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas behind him. He will face top seed Taylor Fritz next.
“I thought I did well, I hit the ball very well from the beginning of the match,” Murray said.
“I was struggling a little bit on the return. Brandon serves well, especially his second serve. I was struggling to create many opportunities on return. But I was just a little bit more solid than him at the end of the tie-break, he made a few mistakes, I put enough balls back in play.
“Then I got the break immediately at the beginning of the second set and served it out pretty well from there. It was tight at the end. The courts and the balls are extremely slow here, so you’re having to work really hard in all of the games, it’s not easy to finish points. It was a good one to get through.”
A runner-up in this event in 2006, Murray delighted the crowd with an array of sublime shots on the backhand and serve, all while displaying his usual battling qualities.
It will have been a poignant victory for Murray five years after he broke down in tears in Washington following a marathon victory over Marius Copil, before eventually pulling out ahead of his then quarter-final against Alex de Minaur.
Washington 2018: Murray breaks down in tears, later admitting his body could no longer handle professional tennis
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 2, 2023
Washington 2023: Post-surgery, Murray wins his first singles match in the city since that moment
❤️ @andy_murray #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/ZBixti64vs
There wasn’t much between Murray and Nakashima in the early stages on Wednesday, but two beautiful drop shots in the fifth game suggested the Scot was finding his rhythm.
And when the first set was inevitably decided on a tie-break – given how comfortably both players were holding serve – Murray’s class shone through as he fought back in typical fashion by taking five consecutive points after being 5-2 down to secure the set in one hour and 12 minutes.
With the momentum on his side, Murray earned a first break point in the opening game of the second set, which he converted with a blistering backhand.
Remarkably, having not faced a break point in the first set, Murray faced five in his first two service games of the second, all of which he saved as he raced into a 3-1 lead.
Taking a leaf out of Murray’s book, Nakashima fended off a break point to reduce the deficit and stay on the three-time Grand Slam winner’s coat-tails, taking the game to make it 5-4.
Nakashima was a break point away from levelling the set at 5-5, but Murray dug in to clinch the victory in style as he marched into the next round with his first win in this competition since that fateful night in 2018.
Indeed, Murray may sense an opportunity in Washington following the withdrawals of Daniil Medvedev and defending champion Nick Kyrgios.
He is using the tournament as preparation for the US Open, which begins on August 28, and he is also expected to play the back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
Up next for Murray is a challenging test against top seed and home favourite Fritz.
The world No. 9 defeated Zachary Svajda 6-3 6-3 and has now won 17 of his 20 matches on home turf in the United States this season.
“It’s going to be a tough match against Andy, who is such an amazing competitor,” said Fritz. “The conditions are really, really slow so that will help him in the match a little bit.”
Murray’s fellow Brit Dan Evans also progressed, beating Gregoire Barrere 2-6 6-0 6-3, but Liam Broady lost 6-4 6-2 to Tallon Griekspoor.
Wild card Gael Monfils produced the standout performance of the day to stun sixth seed Alexander Bublik 6-3 6-4.
But third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime also suffered an early exit, falling to Yosuke Watanuki 7-6(10) 7-6(3).
