-
ESPN staff
Andy Murray impressed at the Nature Valley International on Monday with a stunning win against Stan Wawrinka – his first since returning from a hip injury.
The 31-year-old Scot defeated the former World No. 3 6-1, 6-3 after seeing off several aggressive shots in the first set deep in the court.
The former World No. 1 ramped up the pressure on Wawrinka in the second set, saving the only four break points he faced in the match on a sun-baked centre court in Eastbourne.
Murray made his return to international tennis last week at Queen’s Club, ending with a final-set tie-break against Australian Nick Kyrgios at the Fever Tree Championships.
It was his first competition in 11 months after sustaining a hip injury and undergoing surgery. His last season came to a difficult end after losing in the Wimbledon 2017 quarter-finals.
Murray, who is currently World No. 156, now faces a second-round match-up against British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.
“He looked pretty good. I mean, he was like that at the start of the tournament in Queen’s, and I think Queen’s he played really pretty well for his first match, for sure,” Edmund told journalists on Monday. “He’s looking good, like, pretty normal to me.”
Edmund, 23, has climbed into the Top 20 rankings, but Murray has previously beaten him both times in two previous ATP match-ups.
Elsewhere, American Jared Donaldson edged Taylor Fritz 6-7(8), 6-3, 7-6(3) to set a meeting with third seed Denis Shapovalov.
And David Ferrer, the former World No. 3, reached the second round after winning a qualifier against Matteo Berrettini 7-5, 6-3.
He will now face either Mikhail Kukushkin or Australian Alex de Minaur.