Andy Murray got back onto the ATP on Tuesday as the former No. 1 began his run at the new 250 event on Spain’s northern Atlantic coast by scoring a 7-5, 6-2 defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The Scot who has had only two matches at the Davis and Laverr Cups since reaching the US Open third round last month, came back from a break down against the local sixth seed before motoring to victory in one and three-quarter hours.
The 35-year-old winner broke five times and won 10 of the last 13 games.
“In the first set he was playing much better than me,” Murray said. “He had a lot of chances to get the second break of serve and I managed to stay tough in those moments.
“He was a bit frustrated, and his level dropped in the second set.
The 48th-rnaked Murray won his 24th match of the season against 16 defeats; he won the last of his 46 titles at Antwerp three years ago.
The event is being played in Basque country after hols in the autumn ATP scheduled created by the absence of the traditional October Chinese pair of tournaments due to COVID restrictions.
“I really enjoy playing in new places, I’ve never been here before and it’s a beautiful place, so I’m happy to be here,” the wild card entry said.
