Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray routinely handled Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Masters but after the match showed his class and offered words of encouragement for the Austrian. Thiem, who was sidelined for 10 months before making his long-awaited comeback in late March, picked up his fourth defeat since returning.
Murray, a former world No. 1, won the battle between two Grand Slam champions as he handed Thiem a 6-3 6-4 loss. Thiem is now 0-4 since returning and far from his old form. “I hope you feel better soon. I’m glad to see you back, keep going, it takes a lot of time but you’ll be fine,” Murray told Thiem at the net, as revealed by Reem Abulleil.
Andy Murray to Dominic Thiem at the net after the Brit claims a 6-3, 6-4 victory (his 1st on clay in 5 years):
“I hope you feel better soon. I’m glad to see you back, keep going, it takes a lot of time but you’ll be fine.”
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) May 2, 2022
Murray beats Thiem in straight sets
Murray had the first break point of the match in the second game but failed to convert. However, Murray kept pressing Thiem and earned the first break of the match in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead.
Murray then held on to his serve the rest of the first set to win the opener. Thiem had a chance to start the second set with a break but he missed out on three break points in the second game. Thiem paid the price for failing to convert his break point chances as Murray claimed the first break of the second set in the third game.
Murray never looked back after earning the break as he served out for the match in the 10th game. “I enjoyed it. I prepared really hard before coming here,” Murray said after the win, as quoted on the ATP Tour website.
“I worked hard and really wanted to go out and put a good performance out there. I feel like I did that. When I played a couple of years ago on the clay, I was struggling a little bit with my groin. My body felt really good in the last few weeks and tonight I felt like I moved well and I played a really good match.” Murray plays Denis Shapovalov in the Madrid second round.
