World number 83 Egor Gerasimov edged two-time Olympic champion Andy Murray 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 after 1 hour and 44 minutes in Montpellier.
World number 121 Murray was playing his first ATP Tour match since October 2020 when he was defeated by Fernando Verdasco in the first round in Cologne. After undergoing right hip suregry following the 2019 Australian Open, the British player made a successful comeback later that year by winning an ATP Tour title at the European Open in Antwerp. The former world number 1 started the 2021 season at the ATP Challenger in Biella, losing in the final against Ukraine’s Ilya Marchenko.
The first set went on serve in the first six games before Gerasimov earned the first break to take a 4-3 lead. Murray broke straight back to draw level to 4-4.
Murray saved two set points in the tie-break and earned his chance at 6-6, but Gerasimov closed out the tie-break 10-8 on his fourth opportunity.
Gerasimov went up a double break to race out to a 5-0 lead. Murray saved two match points, but Gerasimov converted his third chance to win the 35-minute second set securing his spot in the second round, where he will face either Jannik Sinner or Aljaz Bedene.
“I just tried to make good shots, that’s it. I wasn’t thinking about winning or losing the tie-break. I was thinking about the game”, said Gerasimov.
Dennis Novak beat Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 6-3. Both players traded breaks twice in the first set. Novak got three mini-breaks to take the tie-break 7-5. Simon broke in a row to win the second set 6-1. After a trade of breaks in the third and fourth games of the third set. Novak earned the decisive break in the eighth game to win the third set 6-3 after 2 hours and a half.
Benjamin Bonzi overcame his compatriot Lucas Pouille 7-6 (8-6) 6-2. Both players traded breaks in the fourth and fifth games and held their next service games en route to the tie-break. Bonzi earned the first mini-break to open up a 2-0 lead. Pouille pulled the break back. Bonzi won the final three points from 5-6 with a mini-break to claim the tie-break 8-6. Bonzi earned two breaks in the first and seventh games to win the second set 6-1.
Peter Gojowczyk broke serve four times to claim a 6-3 6-4 win over his compatrion Jan-Lennard Struff in an all-German match after 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Tallon Griekspoor battled past US Marcos Giron 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 after 2 hours and 8 minutes setting up a second match against Ugo Humbert. Griekspoor broke twice in the first and seventh games to win the first set 6-1. The second set went on serve en route to the tie-break where Giron took the 7-5 edge with a mini-break. Griekspoor broke serve at love to win the third set 6-3.
Ugo Humbert and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed their first doubles win as a team by beating Andrey Golubev and Hugo Nys 6-3 6-4. The French team fended off five of the six break points they faced. Tsonga lost to Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-2 in his come-back on the ATP Tour.
Marcelo Arevalo and Matwe Middelkoop beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-4 7-5 with four breaks of serve. Sander Arends and Andrea Vavassori defeated Dusan Lajovic and Marc Lopez 6-4 6-4.
