Physically, Andy Murray had already overcome his demons; mentally, the battle has been far tougher, his time on court looking tortuous in recent times.
But in his opening-round match in Indian Wells against David Goffin overnight and goaded on by a fan, he pulled off something which has evaded him of late — a comfortable win.
Tougher challenges lie ahead in round two, with No5 seed Andrey Rublev in wait, but, following a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 victory, the Briton singled out a particular supporter for his change in fortunes.
“It was constant cheering during the match, but it wasn’t just, ‘Come on’,” said Murray. “It was, ‘This is the best I’ve seen you serve, man’ and ‘You’re moving great considering all your problems’.
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, thanks’. I need a bit of that when I’m getting a bit down on myself. He was like a second coach.”
Murray, who does not plan to play on much past the summer, knows he will need much more than simply fan support against Rublev.
Jack Draper failed to join Murray in round two after a three-set loss against Australian Chris O’Connell in his opener.
British women’s No1 Katie Boulter was also unable to follow up on her biggest tournament win to date at the San Diego Open last weekend as she crashed out in the first round at Indian Wells, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Camila Giorgi of Italy.
Emma Raducanu and Dan Evans are both in action on Thursday, against Rebeka Masarova and Roman Safiullin respectively.
