Andy Murray presented himself as a man of understatement. After his victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Stuttgart audience celebrated him with all their hearts - and a group of fans in particular. "They have a few mugs of beer in their hands, they're just having fun," Andy Murray tried to explain in an on-court interview, but Sascha Bandermann didn't accept it. "I don't think that's the reason."

It was at best a co-reason. Because Murray, who has always preferred the grass tournaments in England to those in Germany, should feel wonderfully at home in Stuttgart. “Go Andy” was the call that rang out most frequently on Friday afternoon on Center Court, from all directions. (In case of doubt also: by Andy Murray himself.)

Of course, it was nothing against Stefanos Tsitsipas, nominally the main attraction at Weissenhof. But Murray is Murray, part of the "Big Four" around Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, who will have to say goodbye to tennis at some point in the near future, because even the best forehand and the best stretching don't help against the ravages of time .

Murray takes advantage of the margins

Murray showed a flawless performance on this sunny Friday afternoon against Tsitsipas , the fifth in the world rankings, who had actually seemed more confident in the first set, served well and only allowed the two-time Wimbledon champion (2013, 2016) little. But the margins in tennis, especially on fast grass like in Stuttgart, are damn small. As the two decisive balls in the first set showed: Tsitsipas had a set ball at 5: 4 and hit a long ball on the baseline (one almost thought it was off), Murray just got control of it and in turn put the ball on the short one sideline, made the point and stayed in the set. And in the tie-break: Both were highly concentrated at work, Murray managed the only mini break thanks to a net roller.

The victory over Tsitsipas, it was the first against a top 5 player since 2016 for Murray, who endured a long period of suffering between 2017 and 2019, ended up with a near career end and is now equipped with an artificial hip joint. Which of course doesn't detract from his flair for grass.

Murray, now 35 years old, is a fox when it comes to the grass, especially the faster ones here in Stuttgart. And while he's as clumsy between rallies as ever (even at 20), he moves like a Scottish gazelle during rallies. The passing shot for the decisive break in the second round: a dream, a memory of the old Murray, i.e. the young one.

Andy Murray: "People in the audience make the sport fun"

"It was a great atmosphere, a lot of people in the audience are enjoying the tennis," Murray confirmed at the press conference. "That's one of the main reasons why I'm still playing." In general, however, Murray didn't want to relate too much to himself and drew a line over the last few years, in which you had to play a lot without spectators. Not only he, but probably all players appreciated the audience more after the pandemic, according to Murray, who remembered the Corona tournament in Cologne when one was grateful to be able to play at all, but without people on site. “Nobody was there and it's not the same. The people in the audience make the sport fun. That's what we play for."

In any case, the Stuttgart audience will probably be in just as good a mood today, in addition to the game between Oscar Otte and Matteo Berrettini, Murray and Nick Kyrgios will also play against each other - two experts on grass. "Nick serves incredibly well and loves to play on grass," Murray predicted. “When Nick is motivated, which is usually the case during grass time, he is without question one of the best grass players in the world. That will not be easy."

Not easy, but good for the audience: another tennis festival.

TV NOTE: ServusTV Germany broadcasts all center court matches of the BOSS OPEN live and exclusively on free TV and on ServusTV On.

For a single draw in Stuttgart