Murray fights back to beat Haase in Rotterdam first round

ROTTERDAM: Andy Murray fought back from a set down to defeat home hope Robin Haase and claim his first top-level win of the year at the ATP tournament in Rotterdam on Monday.

The former world number one suffered a first-round loss in his first ATP event of the season last week in Montpellier and was in danger of another early exit after dropping a one-sided opening set in the Netherlands.

But the three-time Grand Slam champion battled back to win 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 and book a last-16 meeting with either American qualifier Marcos Giron or Russian fourth seed Andrey Rublev.

“I didn’t feel the ball right,” said 2009 Rotterdam winner Murray, who last won an ATP match at the US Open last September.

“I kept fighting and this is really a mental victory. My tennis definitely needs to improve. Fortunately I have a day off to recover from this tough match and prepare for the second round.”