This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
On Tuesday, former world number one Andy Murray began his comeback with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over unseeded Belgian Kimmer Coppejans in the European Open in Antwerp.
The 32-year-old Scot, who underwent career-saving hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019, was stretched by the wildcard in the second set but held his nerve to prevail in an hour and 44 minutes.
Murray won 75% of points on his first serve and converted four out of six break points to overcome his opponent, who is ranked 158 in the world, for his first ATP level victory in Europe for 16 months.
Next up for Murray is either eighth seed Pablo Cuevas or Bolivia's Hugo Dellien, who will meet in the first round on Wednesday.
Murray is hoping to regain full match fitness before making his much-anticipated Grand Slam return at next year's Australian Open.
Other winners in the European Open included South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo, who rallied past Frenchman Richard Gasquet, and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff, France's Gilles Simon, and Italy's Jannik Sinner.
