Murray victorious in singles return at Zhuhai

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray marked his return to singles tennis with a three-set, first-round victory over American Tennys Sandgren on Tuesday at Zhuhai Championships in China.

Murray's last ATP singles action was a first-round defeat to Sandgren at the Winston-Salem Open in August as he continued his recovery from a hip injury. Murray underwent surgery for the recurring ailment in January.

In the first tour-level victory of his latest comeback, Murray exacted revenge on Sandgren with Tuesday's 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-1 result. The three-time Grand Slam winner turned back the clock with a level of confidence not seen in his previous 2019 matches.

Murray will now meet seventh-seeded Alex de Minaur after the 20-year-old Aussie battered countryman John Millman 6-1, 6-3 in a scant 70 minutes earlier Tuesday. De Minaur has won a pair of ATP Tour titles this season at the Sydney International and the Atlanta Open.

A winner of 45 titles, the 32-year-old Murray entered play at the Zhuhai Championships as World No. 413.