For a considerable amount of time over the past few months, Andy Murray did not even intend to step foot on a clay court this year. His primary goal was to maintain his body for the grass‑court season to come and the gruelling nature of clay‑court tennis could jeopardise that.
In the end, though, Murray just could not stay away. After attaining a surprise wildcard into the Madrid Open, on Monday he played a solid, composed match to reach the second round with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Dominic Thiem. Murray will next face Denis Shapovalov, the 14th seed.
