Murray Breaks Down Thiem In Madrid Clay Return

Andy Murray owned the top spot in the ATP Rankings when he last took the court at the Mutua Madrid Open in 2017. His performance in a Monday victory over Dominic Thiem showed that his current level remains far closer to that mark than his current position of World No. 78.

Back on clay for the first time in nearly two years, the two-time Madrid champion looked right at home in a 6-3, 6-4 win. It was his first victory on the surface since the 2017 Roland Garros quarter-finals, when he beat Kei Nishikori.

Murray’s last clay-court match came at Roland Garros in 2020, and he had initially planned to skip this year’s clay swing before deciding to accept a wild card into the Spanish ATP Masters 1000 event. Nonetheless, he showed very few signs of rust in a dominant display.

In a strong serving performance that included nine aces, Murray saved all three break points he faced, with all three coming in in his opening service game of the second set. He won 78 per cent of his first-serve points in the one-hour, 42-minute contest.

Thiem, still seeking the first win of his comeback from a right-wrist injury, was brilliant in stretches on Manolo Santana Stadium — never more so than when he flicked a stunning backhand pass late in the opening set.

But the Austrian’s powerful forehand misfired too often in what was just his third tour-level event of the year, and Murray zeroed in on that wing to break serve in both sets. Thiem finished with 33 unforced errors, 24 of them coming from the forehand.

Both men used the drop shot to great effect throughout the match, with Thiem creating his own personal highlight reel early in the early stages. But Murray showed his touch, too, and came up with the pick of the bunch in a smooth half-volley as he drove home an early-break advantage in the second set.

With the victory, Murray improves to 8-1 in first-round matches on the year. He next faces the winner of 14th seed Denis Shapovalov’s matchup with lucky loser Ugo Humbert of France.