The first day of 2019 may have been just the fresh start former World No. 1 Andy Murray needed, as the Scot began the new season on Tuesday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against home favourite James Duckworth in the first round of the Brisbane International.

“I thought I did quite well. I think maybe both of us at the beginning of the match were a bit nervous, a few errors from the back of the court from both of us. But I think as the match went on, the rallies were a bit more entertaining,” Murray said on court after the match. “I think for the first match of the new year after quite a long break, it was alright.”

The 2012-13 Brisbane champion was limited to 12 matches in 2018 after undergoing hip surgery in January. And while Murray showed flashes of his former self in his comeback, earning two wins against Top 20 players in the ATP Rankings, he ultimately went 7-5 for the year. 

But Murray, who is now 10-0 at the season-starting ATP 250 event, is beginning his return towards the top of the sport. The 31-year-old broke Duckworth three times in the one-hour, 28-minute clash, saving four of the five break points he faced.

“It’s been really hard. Eighteen months, a lot of ups and downs. It was tricky just to get back on the court competing again,” Murray said. “I’m happy I’m back out here competing again. I want to try enjoy it as much as I can.”

It was an encouraging performance for Murray, who was made to sprint to the net several times by Duckworth in a rematch of their 2018 US Open encounter, won by Murray in four sets. The Scot, currently No. 240 in the ATP Rankings, also hit a couple of highlight reel shots during the match, consistently pumping his fist and trying to get Duckworth’s home crowd on his side.

Murray will next face Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, who won his first three ATP Tour titles in 2018. It will be the first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between the pair. 

On the bottom half of the draw, Denis Kudla earned a second-round match against second seed Kei Nishikori with a 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-4 victory against 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier and compatriot Taylor Fritz. Kudla was unable to convert any of the four match points he earned in the second set, but he withstood 22 Fritz aces in the match to win after two hours and 24 minutes.

Former Nitto ATP Finals Champions Upset
Brits Kyle Edmund and Neal Skupski spoiled John Peers’ hometown party, defeating the Aussie and his partner, Henri Kontinen, 7-6(4), 6-2 to reach the second round of the year’s first tournament. Kontinen and Peers triumphed at back-to-back Nitto ATP Finals in 2016-17.

The Djokovic brothers are on the board. Novak Djokovic and Marko Djokovic celebrated the end of 2018 with their first doubles win as a team on Monday at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open.

The Djokovics beat fellow wild cards Cem Ilkel of Turkey and Qatar’s Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-3, 3-6, 10-6. The brothers first played together 11 years ago and lost their first five matches – at 2007 Umag, 2008 Bangkok, 2009 Umag, 2011 Dubai and 2013 Dubai.

They’ll play for a spot in the semi-finals against Damir Dzumhur/Dusan Lajovic, who upset top seeds Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.

Second seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares also fell in their opener, losing to Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Guido Pella of Argentina 6-3, 6-4.

The star-studded team of Russian Karen Khachanov and Swiss Stan Wawrinka couldn’t make it out of the first round, either, falling 7-5, 6-3 to Belgian David Goffin and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France. Goffin/Herbert will meet Nikola Mektic/Alexander Peya in the quarter-finals. Mektic/Peya dismissed Marius Copil/Horia Tecau 6-4, 7-6(4).

Former World No. 4 Tomas Berdych returned to the ATP Tour for the first time in six months on Monday and opened his 2019 campaign with a 6-4, 7-6(5) first-round victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in one hour and 42 minutes at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. Czech wild card Berdych, who went 11-11 in 2018 before ending his year in June due to a back injury, will next play eighth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in Doha.

Verdasco, the 2017 semi-finalist (l. to Djokovic), won 83 per cent of his first-service points and struck nine aces to beat lucky loser Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to join fellow Spaniard — seventh seed Roberto Bautista Agut — in the second round. Bautista Agut avenged his loss to Italian Matteo Berrettini in last year’s Gstaad final with a 6-1, 6-4 first-round win over 69 minutes.

Elsewhere, fifth-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili lost five of his first-service points in beating Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 in one hour and 38 minutes. Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, making his tournament debut, scraped past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4) in two hours and 38 minutes.

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