MY ACCOUNT
Andy Murray recovered from a break down in the first set to surge into the second round of the Gijon Open with victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The three-time grand slam champion trailed 4-2 and 30-40 in the opener, but he saved break point with a brilliant volley before going on to hold and take command.
Murray won 10 of the next 13 games thereafter to claim a 7-5 6-2 win, and the former world number one felt Davidovich Fokina’s frustration played a key role in the turnaround.
“In the first set, he was playing much better than me,” said Murray, seeking his first ATP Tour title since prevailing in Antwerp in 2019.
“He had a lot of chances to get the second break of serve, and I managed to stay tough in those moments. At the 4-3 game, he played a bad game to give me the break back, and after that I started to play a little bit better.
“I think he was a bit frustrated, and then in the second set his level dropped a little bit, but the end of the first set was very important because he was playing very well and it was a difficult first set.”
Murray will face either Pedro Cachin or qualifier Alexey Vatutin in the second round. Davidovich Fokina’s fellow Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Albert Ramos-Vinolas lost to Ilya Ivashka and Marcos Giron respectively. There was victory for one home hope, though, as Nicolas Alvarez Varona moved into round two.
At the Firenze Open, Alexander Bublik secured his 100th Tour-level win with a straight-sets victory over Cristian Garin, while Mikael Ymer thrashed Tim van Rijthoven 6-1 6-2.
Oscar Otte and Brandon Nakashima were also victors in Florence on Tuesday.
