British number one Cameron Norrie continued his bid to reach the ATP Finals with a solid opening win at the Paris Masters but Andy Murray and Dan Evans lost in the first round.

Evans was beaten 2-6 7-5 7-5 by Alexander Bublik before Murray lost 6-4 5-7 7-6 (11-9) to Dominik Koepfer.

Murray squandered seven match points after a subdued start.

Norrie, 26, could still take one of the remaining two spots at the season-ending finals, which start in Turin on 14 November, with a deep run in Paris.

He has enjoyed the best season of his career to move into contention for a place in Turin, which has taken over from London as the host city for the year-ending event.

The left-hander has reached six finals this year, most notably when he won the prestigious title in Indian Wells last month, and his improved consistency has seen him rise from 74th in the world to the top 15.

However, Norway’s Casper Ruud and Italy’s Jannik Sinner go to Paris in pole position to qualify for the eight-man finals.

After beating Delbonis, Norrie said it is “pretty cool” to still be in the race.

“To be in the question of that event at this stage of the year shows the improvements I’ve had this year,” he told Amazon Prime.

“To be playing these matches with a little added pressure and motivation is exactly where I want to be.”

Following up Indian Wells with another Masters title could seal Norrie’s spot, although he will face tougher opponents than Delbonis in the French capital.

A strong field at the indoor hard-court event includes Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev – the world’s top two men’s players.

Norrie, the 10th seed, will now play American Reilly Opelka or Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic after easing past Delbonis, whose losing streak was extended to a 10th match.

Murray loses epic against Koepfer

Former world number one Murray had been due to play Jenson Brooksby but the American pulled out just hours before Monday’s first-round match.

In his place came German lucky loser Koepfer, who dominated the first set by breaking Murray’s serve twice in succession as the Scot looked off the pace.

The 27-year-old, ranked 58th in the world, looked to be breezing to the second set and victory, breaking Murray again in the first game.

But then three-time Grand Slam champion Murray mounted his comeback, breaking to love when Koepfer was serving for the match in a five-game winning streak that saw him take the contest to a deciding set.

The third set was a much tighter affair, staying with the serve until Murray failed to break Koepfer and capitalise on his first two match points.

A tie-break was required to decide the winner, Murray wasting a further five match points before his opponent wrapped up the win on his second.

Koepfer will play either ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or qualifier Gianluca Mager in the second round.

“I heard about it at 4 o’clock. I was about to go back to the hotel and then one of the ATP tour managers texted me, ‘Dom, you in? You’re playing against Andy Murray’,” Koepfer said.

“Honestly, I was a little nervous. I didn’t expect to play today, I was hoping that someone was going to pull out tomorrow.

“But a night match here in Paris, a lot of fans, they had an unbelievable crowd, the first time for me for a while. It’s been a great day. Unexpected, but it worked out and I’m happy.”

Evans loses entertaining match

British number two Evans lost 2-6 7-5 7-5 against Kazakhstan’s Bublik, but had his chances against the unpredictable Bublik and looked to be in control following a dominant opening set.

A loose service game from the Briton at 5-5 in the second set ended in a double fault, allowing his opponent to serve out and take the match into a decider.

Tightness crept in as Bublik tried to serve out the match at 5-4, the world number 36 hitting six double faults – including one on match point – in an incredible game.

But he recovered to break back immediately, then sealed a victory which sets up a meeting with Ruud in the second round.

World number one Djokovic returns to the singles court on Tuesday for the first time since his hopes of a calendar Grand Slam were ended by Russia’s Medvedev in September’s US Open final.

The 34-year-old Serb will play Marton Fucsovics on Tuesday after the Hungarian survived a fightback from Italy’s Fabio Fognini to win 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5).

Djokovic teamed up with Serbian compatriot Filip Krajinovic in the doubles on Monday, needing a super tie-break to beat Australians Alex de Minaur and Luke Saville 4-6 6-4 10-7.

“I’ve never played in front of so many people for a doubles match, it’s incredible,” he said.