"I enjoyed it, I prepared really hard for Madrid" - Murray after win over Thiem

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 over Thiem.

It was his first victory on the surface since the 2017 Roland Garros quarter-finals when he beat Kei Nishikori. Speaking about it after the match, Murray said:

"I enjoyed it. I prepared really hard before coming here. I worked hard and really wanted to go out and put a good performance out there. I feel like I did that. When I played a couple of years ago on the clay, I was struggling a little bit with my groin. My body felt really good in the last few weeks and tonight I felt like I moved well and I played a really good match."

Murray's last clay-court match came at Roland Garros in 2020, and he had initially planned to continue his clay hiatus and compete in hard-court ATP Challenger Tour events during the European clay swing. But when those events were cancelled, Murray's plans changed.

Murray also touched upon Thiem and his comeback understanding how hard it is:

"It's extremely difficult. He obviously had the injury initially and has also had some setbacks along the way. Mentally, it will take time to feel confident, totally accelerating on the ball. I had a wrist injury when I was 20 years old and it was very difficult. It took me time before I started to feel comfortable on the forehand side again.