Tennis

Murray makes it to 3rd round in Challenger event in Spain

Published Aug. 29, 2019 3:04 p.m. ET

MALLORCA, Spain (AP) — Andy Murray defeated Norbert Gombos of Slovakia 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of a second-tier Challenger Tour tournament hosted by Rafael Nadal's tennis academy on Tuesday.

After cruising to a 6-0, 6-1 win against 17-year-old unranked Frenchman Imran Sibille in the first round, Murray faced a much tougher challenge from the 115th-ranked Gombos. The former No. 1 had his service broken once in each set but saw out the victory in a match that lasted nearly two hours.

Murray will next play Italian Matteo Viola, ranked 240th in the world.

The two-time Wimbledon champion is using the tournament to work his way back toward his best after having hip surgery in January. He returned to the courts in June playing doubles — including at Wimbledon — before moving back to singles this month.

The British player had lost to Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati and to Tennys Sandgren in Winston-Salem, both in the first round.

Murray had not played on the Challenger Tour since 2005.

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