Former finalist Juan Martin del Potro made a winning return to the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Argentine, who is competing at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the first time since 2013, lost just 11 of his service points to defeat qualifier Tim Smyczek 6-4, 6-0 in 69 minutes. He finished runner-up to Rafael Nadal three years ago.

“I think I played well, but I am so happy to be playing tennis again,” said del Potro. “I missed the sport a lot, suffering at home as I tried to fix my wrist. It’s great to be at this big tournament, playing on Centre Court and being around the top guys. It’s very positive just to be here. I think I surprised myself with my level. I didn’t expect to play that well tonight. I have worked hard to be competitive.”

He has a 4-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage against his next opponent, sixth seed Tomas Berdych.

Del Potro underwent left wrist surgeries on 20 January and 18 June last year. He returned to the ATP World Tour at Delray Beach last month, advancing to the semi-finals (l. to Querrey).

Earlier on day one, Albert Ramos-Vinolas saved six of eight break points to beat Hyeon Chung, making his main draw debut, 2-6, 6-0, 6-3 in just over two hours. World No. 64 Chung is a part of the ATP’s ‘Next Generation’ campaign.

Marcel Granollers needed exactly one hour to rout Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-0. The Spaniard will face a much stiffer test in the second round in the form of second seed and 2009 finalist Andy Murray. Granollers trails 1-5 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and has never won a set against the Brit on hard court.

After receiving a first-round bye, No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka will open against Illya Marchenko, who saw off Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 7-6(6). Nicolas Mahut will face countryman and eighth seed Richard Gasquet in the second round. The Frenchman eased past Renzo Olivo 6-2, 6-4. Meanwhile, qualifier Ryan Harrison fired six aces to oust Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 7-6(3), and will take on No. 10 seed Marin Cilic in the second round.

#NextGen stars Borna Coric and Frances Tiafoe made strong starts to their respective BNP Paribas Open campaigns on Thursday. Coric downed Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-5 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, while Tiafoe claimed the all-American #NextGen battle with Taylor Fritz 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

The 19-year-old Coric and 18-year-olds Tiafoe and Fritz are part of the ATP’s Next Generation campaign of budding stars aged 21 and under. Coric won 73 per cent of his service points and broke the Frenchman four times as he raced to victory in 80 minutes. He reached the second round in Indian Wells last year as a qualifier on debut and will next face Brazilian No. 29 seed Thomaz Bellucci. 

In the all-American clash, Tiafoe struck nine aces on his way past Fritz in one hour and 37 minutes. He next meets No. 15 seed David Goffin of Belgium.

Another #NextGen hopeful, Kyle Edmund, was not so fortunate. The Brit went down to Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5 Pella’s countrymen Leonardo Mayer and Federico Delbonis also joined the winners’ list on day one.

Mayer advanced to a second-round clash with 20^th seed Viktor Troicki after he defeated Sam Groth 6-4, 6-3, limiting the big-serving Australian to just five aces. Delbonis set a clash with Joao Sousa after beating Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 7-6(5).

Two other Argentines, Renzo Olivo and Diego Schwartzman, did not advance. Frenchman Nicolas Mahut had a 6-2, 6-4 victory over qualifier Olivo, while Dutchman Robin Haase posted a 6-3, 6-4 result against Schwartzman.

Milos Raonic will open his campaign against Inigo Cervantes, who won an all-Spanish clash with Nicolas Almagro 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in just under two hours. Pablo Carreno Busta joined his Spanish compatriot in the second round after a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Russian Evgeny Donskoy.

Later on day one men’s action, 2013 runner-up Juan Martin del Potro takes to Stadium 1 to face American qualifier Tim Smyczek.

He is the latest member of the Top 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings to add fatherhood to his list of achievements. Now Andy Murray will discover how that transfers to on-court success at the BNP Paribas Open when he contests his first ATP World Tour event since the birth of his daughter, Sophia, in February.

If his three contemporaries’ success in the Top 4 is anything to go by, the title runs aren’t about to dry up for the Scot. Novak Djokovic has won 15 titles since becoming a dad, Roger Federer 28 and Stan Wawrinka 12.

A semi-finalist in Indian Wells last season, Murray returns with a different mindset in 2016. He admitted he had spoken to some of his rivals about the challenges of juggling a family with life on tour.

“I spoke to Roger a little bit in Cincinnati about it, I spoke to Novak a little bit about it … Everyone’s a bit different,” Murray said. “Kim’s not massively into travelling every week whereas some of the partners on tour like travelling and that works for them. It’s just about trying to find what works for you.”

And the World No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings won’t have to wait long before seeing his wife, Kim, and Sophia again. The pair is due to join him for his next event after the BNP Paribas Open.

“She’s coming to Miami so that will be the first trip my daughter does outside of the UK,” Murray said. “Hopefully that goes well. Maybe if that goes really well we’ll be a bit more pumped to travel in the future. We’ll just have to see how it goes in a couple of weeks.”

Murray’s best result at Indian Wells came when he reached the final in 2009 (l. to Nadal). Has a 24-10 record at the event and will open his campaign against either Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur or Spain’s Marcel Granollers.

“I’ve been sleeping decent, which is important, and I’ll try to get some practice in the next few days to get better used to the conditions,” Murray said. “I haven’t hit a ball outdoors for about five or six weeks so it’s quite different.”