As expected, Andy Murray didn’t impress during his first match on clay. The world no.1 was returning from an injury to his elbow, and he had to adapt to the new surface in Monte Carlo. The Briton had to recover from a 3-5 deficit in the first set against Gilles Muller before conquering four consecutive games and the opener (7-5).

The second set was also full of ups and downs, but eventually Andy found the solution in the 12th game to win the contest 7-5 7-5.

I struggled with my serve. MURRAY

Soon after the match, Andy commented

“It was a tough first match. I started slow and wasn’t serving well at the start.

I only started serving properly four, five days ago, so I knew it was going to take time, but I didn’t expect to start the match serving like like that.”

“I definitely played better as the match went on. “Obviously, the first service game was not ideal. But when you are coming back from not really serving for a few weeks, it’s, I think, normal. Maybe my technique changed a little bit. You get into the match, and it’s tricky.

 

I was happy with how I hit the ball. I hit the ball clean from the back. I was dictating a lot of points once I got into the rallies. It was just sometimes the first couple of shots, the serve or the return, could have been a little bit better.”

 

Next against Ramos Vinolas

Andy will play for the first time in his career Albert Ramos Vinolas in the third round.