Tennis news - Andy Murray thrashes unranked teenager to claim first singles win since hip surgery

Former world No 1 Andy Murray claimed his first singles victory since returning from hip surgery with a 6-0 6-1 drubbing of French novice Imran Sibille at the Rafa Nadal Open in Mallorca.

The 32-year-old Scot skipped playing at the US Open, preferring instead to drop down to the ATP Challenger event on the holiday island to continue fine-tuning his game.

It was the first time Murray has played on the second-tier Challenger Tour for 14 years and he needed just 42 minutes to overwhelm Sibille, barely breaking sweat on a warm evening.

Andy Murray eased to victory in front of a small crowd

Image credit: Getty Images

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Murray, ranked No 328, lost only a smattering of points and was rarely made to stretch by a 17-year-old opponent who was given a coaching lesson by the three-time Grand Slam champion.

Murray resisted the temptation to complete a whitewash, slapping a forehand into the net to hand Sibille a game he will cherish, but closed it out in the following game.

The three-time Grand Slam champion is likely to have a much tougher task in the second round when he faces the third seed and world No 115 Norbert Gombos of Slovakia, scheduled for Tuesday, but Murray insists the results don't matter in Spain.

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"I'm not thinking about winning the tournament, just want to come and play competitive matches against quality rivals ranked around the top 100," Murray said before the tournament.

"I hope I can get the opportunity to play against some of them and test myself.

I feel good, I got here nice and early to get used to conditions and we will see what happens.

"I was at Nadal's Academy before, three years ago before the Olympics in Rio and once before to prepare for the clay season when the Academy wasn't totally finished.

"It has changed a lot, we are staying at a nice hotel and the gym is also beautiful, they have done a fantastic job.

"It would be nice to win the tournament, you want to give your best at every event but the most important thing for me is to play matches.

"I haven't played that many singles match and I don't know how the body would react after three or four matches but I hope it will be ok."

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