Andy Murray marked his return to the top 100 for the first time since 2018 with a 7-6(6), 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam on Wednesday.
The former World No 1 and three-time major winner, Murray had too much court guile for World No 31 Bublik, who won his maiden ATP title in Montpellier at the weekend.
“There were some tough moments in the first set for both of us,” said Murray, who entered the tournament as a wild card and is now ranked 95 in the world.
“I just managed to come through at the end of it. Some great returns off some big second serves from him at the end and I did a good job.
“It’s not easy playing against someone like that, huge serves, a lot of drop shots and you’ve got to keep your focus and I did that well tonight.”
The two-time Olympic gold medallist next faces third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime after the Canadian overcame a slow start to beat qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.