Andy Murray has won his first match since last October, beating Alexandre Muller 6-1, 7-6 in the opening round of the Qatar Open.
The Brit gave a golden reaction afterwards when it was announced to the crowd that he had finally picked up a victory after a four-month wait.
Murray had lost his last six matches, dating back to the second round of the Swiss Indoors in October 2023.
He had crashed out in the first round of the last five tournaments he had entered, including the Australian Open in January.
Andy Murray let his relief out as he finally won a match at the Qatar Open
Z Tennis
Murray has had to dismiss any calls for him to retire and has reiterated he will hang up his racket when he sees fit.
The 36-year-old raced into a 3-0 lead against Muller on Monday but then had to call for a medical time-out due to a knee problem.
Murray was heard saying to the physio: "I had something similar to this in December. It was like a bruise...that's the only time I've had it.
"I don't know if it is... I've got some pain here and there but the last few days I've had some pain."
But he was able to put the issue to the back of his mind and produced some fine tennis to win the first set 6-1.
The second set went with serve until Murray broke to go 4-3 up.
Muller wasn't prepared to give in though and immediately broke back before taking the set to a tie-break.
The Frenchman led 5-3 and the match looked set to head for a decider in the Doha heat.
But Murray then won four points on the bounce to finally pick up a victory and set up a second-round match against 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
Murray outlined his relief in his on-court interview and thanked his team for standing by him during the difficult period.
He said: "Obviously the last few months have been really tough on the court for me. Clearly I've not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones as well.
"It was getting tight at the end there as well, so delighted to get through.
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
Andy Murray revealed his relief at winning his first match since last October
Sky Sports
"So many people came out to watch for a first round, which is brilliant.
"I'm just proud I managed to get through the match and get another win under my belt and happy for my team who have been working extremely hard with me to get through these difficult moments and hopefully this is the start of a better run."
Interviewer Andy Taylor then said to Murray: "Listen, we're excited for you, this is your first win of 2024."
To which Murray reacted by putting his hands up in the air and looking up into the sky in celebration, more out of relief than delight.
Taylor said: "Yeah there it is! There it is!"
Andy Murray won in straight sets against Alexandre Muller to progress to the second round
Sky Sports
Murray's next opponent Mensik beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round and the Scot is wary of the teenager.
He said: "I saw a little bit of his match today and he's obviously a very promising young player.
"Huge serve, moves well for a big guy and he's obviously new on the tour.
"So every tournament, every match will be a learning experience and opportunity for him to show his stuff. I'll need to be ready for that."
