Chinese buses are probably a little more regular than those at home but Andy Murray will hope the analogy rings true as he looks to follow up his first title in almost 15 months by claiming another this week in Beijing.

Almost exactly a year after undergoing surgery on his back, Murray tasted victory for the first time in 2014 when he edged out Tommy Robredo in a tough final in Shenzhen, where he saved five match points in the second set before easing through the third for a 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 win.

It was a gutsy, gritty win that earned him 250 points, moving him to within 105 points of eighth-placed Tomas Berdych in the race to qualify for a spot in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The manner of his victory no doubt made it even more rewarding and Murray will be rightly proud of his record of having won at least one title every year since his first, as a 19-year-old in San Jose in 2006.

The emotions of a tough year and an especially tough week came out as he thanked his girlfriend, Kim Sears, for her support. Though he has been burned in the media and public eye at times in the past, the criticism Murray received for his statement on Twitter regarding Scotland's referendum on independence, seemingly in favour and sent on the day of the vote, clearly shocked him.

Some of the bile-fuelled criticism was described by Scottish police as "vile" and Murray, who apologised for the timing and manner of his statement, though rightly not for expressing an opinion, needed the support of his team to get through a week when he was a long way from home.

"It was an emotional week for me," Murray said, in case anyone had failed to notice in his on-court speech. "I managed to fight my way through it, win the title, and hopefully I can win another one before the end of the year."

As always when playing back-to-back tournaments, the first match will be tough, not least since Murray is due on court today against Jerzy Janowicz.

The Pole, defeated by Murray in the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year, has endured a torrid 2014 but has picked up of late, and with his huge serve, will not be an easy starter for Murray.

Providing the 27-year-old makes it through, he is drawn to play Marin Cilic, the newly-crowned US Open champion in the quarter-finals, with world No.1 Novak Djokovic likely to be waiting in the semi-finals.

Murray admitted last week that he had lost a little confidence in the first half of the year, but now free of back pain, he is hoping to gather momentum, first in Beijing and then next week in Shanghai, for the penultimate Masters 1000 of the year.

Despite his tough draw, the Scot will be focusing on only the things he can control this week, but will also doubtless have one eye on what goes on in the other half, where Rafael Nadal makes his comeback after almost three months out with a right wrist injury.

The Spaniard came through a doubles match with Pablo Andujar yesterday and though they were beaten by Berdych and John Isner, the world No.2 showed no obvious signs of discomfort.