Andy Murray shows glimpses in first singles match since January

Andy Murray lost to Richard Gasquet in his singles return, but it was a promising display.

For the first time since the Australian Open back in January, Andy Murray played singles in an ATP tour match on Monday. Murray showed up at the Cincinnati Masters after a couple months of doubles, and looked promising, if still limpy, in a 6-4 6-4 loss to Richard Gasquet.

The match was close and competitive, though Gasquet always seemed to have a handle on the result. Murray’s hip, which underwent a Birmingham hip operation advocated by Bob Bryan after his loss in Australia, was still troubling him, as is to be expected. His mobility clearly wasn’t at the level it has been in the past. Gasquet found success on numerous drop shot winners.

Murray’s biggest issue proved to be his serve. Gasquet consistently feasted on weak deliveries, and Murray often struggled to put his first serves in the court, particularly in the first set. His motion was condensed and uncomfortable, as though he was compensating for some disability. At times, he dribbled the ball for Djokovic-esque lengths and started his toss over. Gasquet created seven break points and converted three of them.

In spite of his difficulties on serve, neutral rallies were promising. He still looked hobbled — in that way, this match was similar to his five-set epic against Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open — but he managed to hold his own in longer points. Murray won 22 points on Gasquet’s serve (equal to the points Gasquet won on Murray’s serve), many of which came from quality returns and extended rallies.

Gasquet was always going to be a unideal player for Murray. The Frenchman causes problems by crafting impressive angles and painting the lines with his beautiful one-hand backhands. He’s a finesse player who makes up for what he lacks in power with creative groundstrokes.

He is a grinder, comfortable on clay and set up for success in all-court rallies. Murray is in some ways similar, but possesses significantly more power from the baseline and has shown to be more effective on grass and hard courts. At his top level, he would have had no issue dealing with Gasquet’s consistent underpowered strokes. With the hip issues, though, Murray struggled to move all over the court.

There were glimpses of his former greatness:

https://twitter.com/ATP_Tour/status/1161005406816210946

Murray is going to need to produce more of those shots if he never returns to his prior athletic abilities. He has to be able to end points quickly and turn defense into offense. In the clip above, he flicks a defensive forehand winner. He knows that if he simply whacks that back to Gasquet, he has little chance of retrieving whatever else the Frenchman produces.

These are the sorts of adjustments Murray will have to make. His key to winning matches as he regains some of his athleticism is winning more points from his serve, and growing more comfortable stepping into groundstrokes and getting to the net.

It remains to be seen whether Murray will play singles at the US Open in a couple weeks, but he has indicated that he will play at least one tournament during the Asian swing after the year’s final major. He has a promising base from which to build.