Cincinnati [US], August 16: The former World No. 1 Andy Murray showed his fighting qualities on Monday as he defeated Stan Wawrinka in the opening round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. Murray registered a hard-fought victory against long-time rival Stan Wawrinka 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-5 to advance to the next round. National Bank Open 2022: Casper Ruud Moves Into Top 5 in Rankings After Semifinal Run in Montreal.

The 35-year-old Scot consistently found depth on his watertight groundstrokes as he forced the Swiss into making mistakes, who combined moments of erratic play. After both stayed firm on serve, a tie-break was left to decide the opener, with Murray claiming the set when Wawrinka shot a forehand long. In the third set, the Scot fought hard from 0-2 down, eventually breaking to lead 6-5 before successfully holding to triumph.

"The court is pretty lively when the weather is like this. Physically I feel tired," Murray said in his on-court interview. "I had some issues with cramp during the match, the same as Washington, so that is something I need to get on top of.

"I tried to take the ball on a little more and finish points at the net. I wasn't that successful when I came up, but the intention was there. I was a little more offensive on the second-serve return. Last game I was just fighting, trying to find a way through," he added. Canadian Open 2022: Two-Time Champion Simona Halep Beats Jessica Pegula to Reach National Bank Open Final.

"He is very different to how Stan plays, being a lefty. Flat on the backhand, heavy topspin on the forehand. We have spent a little bit of time on the court together, so there won't be many surprises out there for me," Murray said when looking ahead to his match against Norrie.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)