Andy Murray fought back from a set down against the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor on Wednesday to win Great Britain’s Davis Cup opener 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (5) in two hours and 55 minutes.
The opening-round clash in Madrid marked Murray’s first Davis Cup match in three years, and proved a tough test for the Scot, who lost the first set narrowly in a tiebreak — in which he held a set point — before surrendering a 3-1 lead in the second frame.
Murray, 32, showed his signature grit to clinch the set 6-4, however, and demonstrated even greater resolve in the decider.
The three-time Grand Slam champion trailed 4-1 in both the set and the tiebreak, but clawed his way back both times, eventually edging out Griekspoor after nearly three hours on court.
“I don’t think I deserved to win that match,” Murray said after his victory.
“I fought extremely hard, but he dictated a lot of the points. I thought he served amazing.
“I just fought hard and scrambled at 4-1 down in the tiebreak. It was enough to go my way.
“We knew he had been a bit injured — he hurt his ankle four weeks ago. We had sort of prepared to play against the No. 2. An hour before the match it changed, [so] I didn’t know an awful lot about his game.”
The second singles match of the first-round tie sees British No. 1 Dan Evans take on Robin Haase, with the Dutchman needing to win to keep his nation’s hopes of making it to the next round alive.