Andy Murray will take on world number eight Andrey Rublev in the second round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.
Fourth seed Rublev defeated Marcos Giron 7-6 (1) 6-3 to book his spot in the last 16 along with Murray, who battled past Robin Haase on Monday evening for his first tour-level win in six months.
The Scot expressed hope that the victory, which saw him win the final six games, could be the catalyst for a resurgence, and a clash with the world number eight will certainly give a good indication of where he stands.
Their only previous meeting came at the Australian Open in 2017, when a 19-year-old Rublev won just five games.
The Russian said: “Andy’s a true legend. I have a really good connection with him, I really like him as a person, as a player.
“It’s going to be fun. He destroyed me once already. I hope it’s going to be a great match. I hope we’re going to have great rallies, great fight. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Murray was joined in the second round by British compatriot Cameron Norrie, and he will take on another Russian in Karen Khachanov, who defeated Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-5.
Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fought off Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 7-6 (4) 7-5, while Kei Nishikori scored an encouraging 7-6 (4) 6-1 win over seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The all-Australian battle went the way of Alex De Minaur, who saw off John Millman 6-1 6-4, while Hubert Hurkacz was a 6-3 7-6 (6) winner over Adrian Mannarino.
Other winners included qualifiers Jeremy Chardy and Marton Fucsovics, plus Borna Coric.
Early winners in the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires included fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who saw off Swiss wild card Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune 2-6 6-4 6-3, and sixth seed Pablo Andujar, who beat Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3 6-0.
