Andy Murray’s farewell to Queen’s started with his second win in seven years at the London ATP event.
In what was the Brit’s 1,000th match in the elite men’s game – becoming the fifth active player to reach that benchmark after Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco and Richard Gasquet – he needed three sets to beat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-3 3-6 6-3 at the Queen’s Club in Fulham, west London.
“It has been a difficult season but I did well to come through in the end,” said Murray.
“Any win you can get is important – obviously with Wimbledon a few weeks away I want to build up confidence and get matches in my legs.
“Today was a difficult one and I’m proud of the way I fought.”
Murray is likely to play in his final Wimbledon tournament next month as the British legend begins to think about retiring from the sport.
He is not set to play in Great Britain’s Davis Cup bid later in the year but has been selected for his fifth Olympic Games – where he will compete in both singles and doubles.
British No1 Jack Draper beat Mariano Navone 6-3 6-2 in the final game of the day to back up his grass court success at the Stuttgart Open last weekend.
He will face French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.
But it has not been all good news for the Brits at Queen’s with Dan Evans retiring with a knee injury after slipping on Court 1.
He looked close to tears as he retired from the match.