Britain’s Andy Murray defeated Chinese wildcard Ye Cong Mo to win his opening match of the Zhuhai Championships.
The former world number one battled “very humid” conditions to beat Mo 7-5 6-3 and reach the last 16.
“It was a very, very fast court,” he said.
“My opponent played a solid level at the beginning of the match and pushed me while I was trying to adjust to the conditions.
“Once I managed to get ahead at the beginning of the second set, I felt a bit more comfortable but it wasn’t easy and a lot of the players have said the same thing.”
The opening set was competitive and on serve until Murray broke the Chinese wildcard in the final game to edge the set 7-5.
Murray then fought off four break points in his first two service games in the second set, before breaking for a 3-1 lead and maintaining the advantage.
He served his 10th ace in the match to win on his first and only match point.
It was the 36-year-old’s first match since helping Great Britain reach the quarter-finals of the Davies Cup.
He will now face Aslan Karatsev, who beat Murray in their only career meting at the 2022 Sydney Classic final.
