Andy Murray returns to China, wins 1st-round match at Zhuhai

ZHUHAI, China — Returning to China for the first time in four years, Andy Murray won his first-round match at the Zhuhai Championships on Thursday, beating local wild card Mo Ye Cong 7-5, 6-3.

Murray, bidding for his fifth tour title in China and the first there since the Beijing Open in 2016, edged a tight first-set by breaking in the 12th game. The seventh-seeded Brit then overpowered his 23-year-old opponent in the second set to take the match in 1 hour and 42 minutes.

The 36-year-old Murray next plays 63rd-ranked Aslan Karatsev, who defeated Matteo Arnaldi 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Fifth-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Australian Luke Saville 6-4, 6-4.

Other winners included Kimmer Coppejans, Cristian Garin and qualifiers Marc Polmans and Alex Bolt.

Top-seeded Karen Khachanov faces Australia’s Bolt in the second round, while…