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.
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. Murray saved three break points in his opening service game of the second set, but did not face another in the opening-round 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.
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.
More to come…