Former world No 1 sets up meeting with top seed David Goffin in the next round
Tuesday 25 September 2018 20:33, UK
Andy Murray made it through to the second round of the Shenzhen Open after his opponent Zhang Zhizhen abruptly retired midway through the deciding set.
Playing his first match since losing in the second round of the US Open last month, Murray started well but was pushed to a deciding set by 340th-ranked wild card Zhang before the Chinese wild card retired, handing the Scot a 6-3 6-7 (3-6) 4-2 victory.
Murray: 2019 schedule needs tweaking
The 31-year-old former world No 1, now ranked 311 after a lengthy injury spell, was given a stern test after being taken into a third set and was in danger of suffering his worst defeat for 13 years.
But when Murray secured the first break of the third set he was offered a handshake by the Chinese player who was playing his first tour-level match of the season.
The victory took Murray's record to six wins from 10 matches since his return from hip surgery, but he will no doubt need to raise his level if he is to beat top seed David Goffin in the next round.
At his post-match press conference, the three-time Grand Slam champion said: "It's a really good test for me right now to play against guys who are in and around the top 10. I think he'll be the highest-ranked player I've played since I came back so it'll be good to see where my game is at."
Murray announced on Saturday that he will call time on his season after next week's tournament in Beijing in order to prepare for 2019.
Elsewhere in the first round, fifth seed Fernando Verdasco saw off Jason Jung 6-3 6-2, seventh seed Alex De Minaur of Australia beat Japan's Yuichi Sugita in straight sets, 6-3 6-0.
Denis Shapovalov, the Canadian sixth seed, battled past Ilya Ivashka 7-5 2-6 6-3 in a rain-interrupted match which was suspended for more than three hours.
Czech Jiri Vesely, though, lost 7-5 6-1 to Indian qualifier Ramkumar Ramanathan.
We have every major tennis event covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Japan Open & China Open in October while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports.
