Fever-Tree Championships, London

[21] Nick Kyrgios vs. [156] Andy Murray (GBR)

Murray last played a competitive match at Wimbledon in 2017, where he lost a tough five setter in the quarterfinals to Sam Querrey after he led by two sets to one. Murray subsequently needed hip surgery and it has been a tough road back for the former number one; yet, he has persevered and made his return today.

Prior to his hip surgery in January 2018, Murray had never lost a match to Kyrgios (5:0). However, even with his record, Kyrgios was probably not the opponent Murray wanted to face in his first professional match back. Yet, the psychological scars of never having defeated his opponent were apparent when Kyrgios squandered three break points in the fifth game and then promptly lost his next two service games; thus, it looked like Murray would keep his perfect record against the Aussie after he easily won the first set 6-2.

Yet, despite his curious antics and his apparent dissatisfaction, Kyrgios mounted a comeback in the second set and broke the Brit early to take the 1-0 lead. However, he was plagued by his history of never being able to defeat Murray and he failed to consolidate. He took another lead in the second set; yet, once again Murray dug deep and fought back to even the set. It was a topsy-turvy second set that finally ended in a tiebreak, which was won by Kyrgios.

It was a typical Kyrgios match, one minute he looked disinterested in the match and the next he was hitting serves greater than 130mph and hitting forehand winners that Murray was unable to handle. The third set surprisingly showcased a committed Kyrgios. He fought off his only break point against and finally converted on his sixth break point opportunity to win 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 and put an early end to Murray’s return. Yet, Murray and his team should feel very encouraged by his performance despite the loss.

SOURCE OF IMAGES: Zimbio.com (Marc Atkins/Getty Images Europe-Andy Murray; Steve Bardens/Getty Images Europe-Nick Kyrgios)