An improving Andy Murray continued his search for fitness with a 2-6 6-2 6-3 victory over Juan Ignacio Londero in Shanghai.
The Brit initially struggled to adapt to conditions in China having conceded five break point opportunities and been broken twice in the opening set.
However the two-time champion quickly struck back with two breaks of his own to force a deciding set against the Argentinian.
Two successive breaks in the middle of the final set managed to swing the match in Murray’s favour despite Londero’s stubbornness.
Saving two break points in the final game helped Murray notch up another win to reach the second round in Shanghai.
After the match the Brit admitted he is slowly improving as the weeks go by, “I think each week I have been feeling good, better,” Murray told atptour.com.
“In the beginning I didn’t necessarily feel good. But last couple of weeks have been, I think, much improved. My movement overall has been very good in comparison to what it was over in the States, and I’m hoping that’s something that can get a little bit better.”
Next up for the three-time grand slam champion is Fabio Fognini after the Italian’s straightforward win over Sam Querrey.
Despite leading their head-to-head 4-3, Murray is aware of the threat Fognini poses,“I have always had tough matches with him,” Murray explained.
“He’s not an easy guy to play against. Unbelievably talented guy. Good hand skills. Moves well. A little bit up and down sometimes in his matches, but he’s playing really well.”
The match will take place at 5:30pm local time tomorrow with Fognini looking to further close the gap on Alexander Zverev in the Race To London, with the gap currently standing at 155 points.
In other results today, Denis Shapovalov set up a second round meeting with Novak Djokovic after a 6-4 6-2 win over Frances Tiafoe.
However, former US Open champion Marin Cilic failed to set up a second round meeting with Roger Federer after falling to Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 6-4.
There were also defeats for Diego Schwartzman and Kyle Edmund as players look to improve their ranking before the end of the season arrives.
