Andy Murray will enjoy a day off today in Beijing, a welcome chance to take a breath after he survived a tough start to his China Open title bid yesterday.
Less than 48 hours after winning his first title in more than a year, in Shenzhen, Murray just about evaded the clutches of the giant Pole, Jerzy Janowicz, as he eked out a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
It was always likely to be a tough turnaround for the Scot, for whom every win in this three-week China swing, with Shanghai still to come next week, is another step towards a place in the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London in November.
Lying 10th in the standings and breathing down the neck of those above him in the race to qualify for the eight-man event, Murray was understandably a little stiff early on and soon found himself 5-1 down.
Murray spent much of the first set conducting a monologue, eyes firmly fixed on his team in the stands and his mood worsened when, having recovered brilliantly to force a tiebreak, he led it 4-1 and held two set points only to lose the set.
The 6ft 8in Janowicz is not an ace machine in the mould of John Isner or Ivo Karlovic and, in fact, his drop shot can be as big a weapon. But once Murray had saved a set point in the second, he began to loosen up and he snatched the vital break for 5-4 when Janowicz spooned a smash long and made a hash of a volley.
Once he had levelled at one set apiece, the match was over and Murray broke a dispitrited Janowicz twice to claim a satisfying win that a few months ago, when he was struggling for match sharpness, he might not have managed.
Tomorrow, he will take on Pablo Cuevas of Argentina, the world No.35, who he has faced just once, at the US Open in 2007.
Rafael Nadal made a confident start to his first tournament back from injury since Wimbledon, crushing Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-0 and top seed Novak Djokovic battered Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-1.
In Tokyo, Jamie Murray and his Australian partner John Peers continued their good form as they saw off Americans Jack Sock and Steve Johnson 6-3, 5-7, 10-7 in the first round, setting up a likely clash with top-ranked pair Bob and Mike Bryan.
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