Unfavourable draws have become a fact of tennis life for Andy Murray as he seeks to work his way back up the rankings from his current position of 78th. Whether an opening-round meeting with Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open represented a continuation of that theme, or a welcome respite, was largely a matter of perspective.
On the one hand, Thiem is a former US Open champion and world No 3 whose clay-court pedigree, as a two-time finalist in Madrid and at Roland Garros, is beyond reproach. On the other, the Austrian is working his way back from a wrist injury that kept him out of the game for 10 months, and has not won a tour match in more than a year.
Murray, of course, knows all about the challenges involved in returning from long-term injury, having undergone career-saving hip surgery three years ago. The Scot is not yet where he would wish to be, but he is significantly further along than Thiem, who is just four matches into his recovery, and the difference in competitive sharpness told. In that respect, the contest emphasised why it made sense for Murray, twice the champion in Madrid, to rethink his original plan to skip the clay-court season. The 34-year-old was forced to work hard by Thiem, but his superior tactical clarity, greater consistency and unwavering mental intensity were enough to earn a 6-3, 6-4 victory, his first on a clay court for two years.
“I felt very clear about how I wanted to play tonight,” said Murray, who has just completed a month-long training block with Ivan Lendl in Florida following the revival of their coaching partnership. “I have worked really hard the last four or five weeks, probably longer than that.
“Before I went to Indian Wells, I felt like I was starting to become a little bit clearer with what I wanted to do and was therefore maybe more engaged in the practices and believing that I’m doing the right things. I feel like in the important moments that helps, when you have a clear head and clear thoughts. From that side, like mentally, I did really, really well tonight. I’m really proud of that side of things. My attitude and my energy on the court was really good.”
Murray’s handling of the key points was exemplary. When a double fault brought up a first break point on his serve early in the second set, he shrewdly altered the direction of his delivery, redirecting his attack away from the Thiem backhand to slam an ace down the centre. Two more break points followed, but Murray was now parading the full range of his repertoire, some fine approach play hustling the Austrian into error before he courageously followed in a kick serve to slot away a backhand volley. After a 10-minute struggle, Murray finally held with a flicked forehand half-volley that the stretching Thiem, drawn in by a drop shot, could only volley into the net from shoelace-level.
Thiem showed flashes of his old self, particularly in the initial stages. An early reminder of his enduring class came in his opening service game, when the 28-year-old speared a backhand winner down the line to complete a tricky hold. His movement is as sharp as ever, which it needed to be as the pair engaged in an entertaining drop-shot duel, and his service remains a potent weapon. But on the forehand side, Thiem’s reluctance to trust fully in his wrist was evident, with the venomous topspin that has traditionally been his hallmark notably absent. It was a shortcoming that Murray exploited with variations of height and spin that repeatedly drew his opponent into error.
“I haven’t spoken to him about it, but I also had a wrist problem in 2007, I think it was,” said Murray, who will face Denis Shapovalov, the 14th seed, in round two after the Canadian beat Ugo Humbert of France 7-6 (7-1), 6-3. “It’s difficult when you try to come back from that, because the pain that you feel when you initially hurt it, mentally [makes it] very difficult to let go of the wrist.
“I think at times tonight he did, but there are certain shots that are clearly a little bit more difficult, like when the ball is low and you know you really have to use your wrist to get the ball up and down, or sometimes when the ball is coming fast and quite high, you know, you need to use your wrist a lot to bring the ball down. That shot was certainly inconsistent.”
Murray offered warm encouragement as the pair shook hands afterwards. “Great to see you back,” he told Thiem. “Keep going. It takes a lot of time, but you’ll be fine.”