Beijing, Oct 2 (AFP) Andy Murray won two ATP Tour singles matches in a row for the first time since major hip surgery to battle into the China Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The former world number one outlasted fellow Briton Cameron Norrie 7-6 (8/6), 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 over nearly three gruelling hours and will play top seed Dominic Thiem or Chinese wildcard Zhang Zhizhen next.

The 32-year-old Murray, now ranked a lowly 503, is stepping up his comeback from a career-saving operation in January -- and was at his vintage fighting best here.

On Tuesday, in hot and hazy Beijing, he defeated US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini for his biggest scalp since his return to singles tennis in mid-August.

The three-time Grand Slam winner says he no longer has pain in his hip and it is a matter now of building up fitness so he can play several matches in a row at tournaments. (AFP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)