Andy Murray dug deep to secure a second win of 2024 with a 4-6 7-6 (5) 6-3 victory over Denis Shapovalov in the first round of the Dubai Open.
The three-time grand-slam champion has been forced to fend off retirement talk following a string of first-round defeats and looked set for another when Shapovalov, a former top-10 player, claimed the opening set.
Murray had struggled to breach the serve of his 24-year-old opponent, but produced a trademark gutsy display to edge a second-set tie-breaker and kept his composure to break twice in the decider to secure a much-needed win after two hours and 33 minutes.
The most recent meeting between the duo went to Murray, but that was in 2022 and he entered this match in torrid form with only one win this year.
Shapovalov signalled his intent with three aces in his opening service game before the duo traded a number of early holds.
The first break point opportunity did not occur until the ninth game and, while Murray saved it at 15-40 down, Shapovalov outlasted the Scot in a lengthy rally on the next point to move 5-4 up.
Murray let his frustration show after his wayward backhand gifted Shapovalov the initiative and chucked his racket at the court before the Canadian closed out the opener with two more aces.
Former world number one Murray produced a strong response at the start of the second set and remarkably produced three successful challenges on his serve.
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Buoyed by his eagle-eyes, Murray followed this up with a first break point opportunity and, while it came and went, the 36-year-old did break Shapovalov at the next time of asking to move 3-1 up.
Shapovalov had sent down two double-faults to aid Murray’s cause, but hit back immediately with a break of his own before he consolidated it after a 10-minute service game which included a 137mph ace.
Murray had to display his trademark battling skills to keep the second set on serve at 4-4 and a tie-breaker was ultimately required.
Several mini-breaks followed, but it was Murray who made sure the match went the distance after he edged a marathon 75-minute set with an excellent trade-off with Shapovalov after he came into the net.
Shapovalov’s serve had let him down towards the end of the second set and his struggles continued with two double-faults to begin the third.
It handed Murray the ascendancy and he was able to consolidate with a succession of quick holds to move within sight of a precious victory.
Murray had to work hard to hold in the eighth game of the decider and it broke Shapovalov’s resistance with the Canadian broken again to hand the Briton a confidence-boosting 500th hard-court win of his career.
Osaka beats Kostyuk for landmark win at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka recorded her first win over a top-20 opponent on clay at the Italian Open on Thursday, posting an impressive 6-3 6-2 victory against Marta Kostyuk to reach the third round.
Having opened her first Italian Open campaign since 2021 with a straight-sets win over Clara Burel on Wednesday, Osaka produced another slick performance to down the world number 20 one day later.
Osaka blitzed Kostyuk to take the opener in just 36 minutes, taking advantage of a sloppy start from the Ukrainian, who served at just 40 per cent in the first set and tallied 15 unforced errors.
The former world number one then forced a break within three games in the second set, only for rain to halt proceedings after she went 3-1 up.
She showed no signs of rustiness upon returning to the court, though, even responding to a late loss of serve with an immediate break back to tee up a third-round clash with 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Data Debrief: First for Osaka on least favourite surface
Osaka has never considered herself a clay-court specialist, failing to reach a single tour-level final on the surface throughout her career.
Ahead of Thursday's match, she was 0-8 on clay against opponents in the top 20 of the WTA rankings. However, a routine victory should give her hope of repeating the feat against Kasatkina next time out.
Nadal fights back to win opener in Rome
Rafael Nadal fought back from a slow start to defeat Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the Italian Open.
Nadal endured a poor first set, losing five of the last six games, but turned things around in impressive style, spending two hours and 47 minutes on the court on Thursday.
The 10-time Italian Open champion saved all five break points he faced in the second and third sets to take key points and earn a seventh win of the season.
Nadal is competing in his third consecutive tour-level event after missing most of last year due to a hip injury that required surgery before his comeback was halted by a muscle tear in January.
"That was not my best match, I was practising better than I played today, but I found a way to win," he said after the match.
"That’s so important at the beginning of the tournament. My game is more unpredictable than before. I didn’t play much tennis for the last two years, so have some ups and downs, on and off, but I think I can do much better than today and I hope to do it next round."
The Spaniard will face seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Data Debrief:
Nadal had only lost one of his previous 18 opening-round matches in Rome before Thursday and avoided adding to that tally in his final appearance at the tournament.
He has the most wins at the Foro Italico (70), where he first claimed the title on his debut in 2005.
Osaka makes winning return at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka claimed a straight sets victory over Clara Burel in the first round of the Italian Open.
Making her first appearance in Rome since 2021, former world number one Osaka prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 on Wednesday, marking her first win over a top-50 opponent on clay since she defeated Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2019.
Osaka, who is now ranked 173rd in the world by the WTA, will face Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
She previously faced Kostyuk in the 2020 US Open, en route to winning her third major title.
Data Debrief: Back with a bang
Osaka reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in 2019, but did not win a game in 2021 and has not appeared at any other edition since then.
That means the 26-year-old won her first match at the event since she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu in 2019 (1,819 days ago). She wrapped up the win in one hour and 24 minutes, finishing with 27 winners, including eight aces.
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