In a way, it’s like déjà vu for Andy Murray.

The last time Murray played the Shenzhen Open was in 2014, when he was one year on from back surgery. The right-hander had just fallen outside the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in more than six years. But he would win 20 of his next 22 matches, starting with a title-run in China.

Now Murray, who underwent hip surgery in January, is on the comeback trail again. He returned to action at the Fever-Tree Championships in June. And Murray has shown flashes of his best form in the five tournaments he has played, beating former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in Eastbourne and British No. 1 Kyle Edmund in Washington, D.C.

But the 31-year-old, who is currently World No. 308, knows he has room to continue improving.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been back, but yeah it’s kind of a similar-ish situation,” Murray said. “I’ve been playing a lot more in the build-up to Shenzhen, but it’s similar in some ways in that I’m not quite back to where I’d like to be yet, but kind of improving each week. Hopefully I can play some good tennis and get on a bit of a run.”

It has not been an easy comeback for Murray, who has tallied a 5-4 record in 2018. But the Scot says that while he’s not back at his best, he’s moving closer to it.

“[I’m] probably 85 per cent, 90 per cent. That’s from a physical perspective,” Murray said of how close he is to his top level. “I think I need matches and tournaments and also more time training where I’m feeling good so I can get a lot of practice on the court. This year for me has been a lot of starting, practising, playing a couple of tournaments and then stopping, resting, rehabbing. Like after New York, I didn’t hit a ball for two weeks and I was doing a lot of training and conditioning.”

But now in Shenzhen, Murray will have an opportunity to get more matches in. The 45-time tour-level champion opens against home favourite Zhizhen Zhang, before potentially clashing against top seed David Goffin.

Ahead of the tournament, on Saturday, Murray announced on Facebook that Shenzhen and the China Open in Beijing will be his final two tournaments of 2018. While he is happy with the ‘big strides’ he has made this year since undergoing surgery, Murray wants to finish his last couple of events in this campaign strong before buckling down for a lengthy training block to further his improvements.

“I’ve decided along with my team that I need a long period of training and reconditioning to get myself in the best shape possible for the beginning of the 2019 season and getting myself back competing for the biggest tournaments again,” Murray said in the video.

In their maiden tour-level event as a team, Matteo Berrettini and Fabio Fognini reached their first final at the St. Petersburg Open, beating Max Mirnyi and Philipp Oswald 7-6(5), 6-3.

The Italian duo converted both their break-point opportunites to secure victory after 78 minutes, setting a championship match meeting with third seeds Roman Jebavy and Matwe Middelkoop. Jebavy and Middelkoop advanced to the final on Friday, edging past second-seeded duo Julio Peralta and Horacio Zeballos 7-6(4), 1-6, 10-8.

Berrettini and Fognini have been on a roll since dropping their first set of the tournament, winning six consecutive sets since then. Berrettini teamed with Daniele Bracciali to earn the crown in Gstaad earlier this year for his first ATP World Tour doubles victory, while Fognini owns four tour-level doubles trophies, including the 2015 Australian Open, where he partnered Simone Bolelli.

Mahut/Roger-Vasselin Cruise Into Metz Final
Home favourites Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin played to their top-seeded billing on Saturday, dropping just two games en route to the Moselle Open final.

The French pairing delighted home fans, breaking serve on six occasions to march past third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Andres Molteni 6-1, 6-1 in 51 minutes. Mahut and Roger-Vasselin will meet this year’s Open Sud de France titlists, Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski, for the title. The British brothers recovered from a set down on Friday to beat Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer 4-6, 6-3, 10-5.

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin have claimed four tour-level titles together, including three in France in 2012. The Frenchmen triumphed in Metz that year, winning three of their four matches in straight sets. They have combined to capture 36 trophies in their careers.