Andy Murray on Antwerp win: "I am certainly a lot more optimistic now"

Andy Murray has called his title win at Antwerp "one of the biggest wins I have had" and is now a lot more confident about his comeback from hip surgery.

Murray is attempting to become the first to make a successful singles return from a hip resurfacing, where a metal implant was inserted in the joint. He underwent the procedure following the Australian Open and began his comeback playing doubles on grass. Antwerp is his seventh singles event since surgery, capped with a three-set defeat of Stanislas Wawrinka in the final.

"Both me and Stan have had a lot of injury problems and it’s amazing to be back playing in a final with him," said Murray, who injured his hip in a five-set semifinal at the 2017 French Open against Wawrinka, who also hurt his knee in that encounter and had to have double knee surgery.

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A couple of months ago, the three-time Grand Slam champ was having problems winning matches at Challenger events. Now, he's got a win against No.11 Matteo Berrettini and won an ATP title.

"I am certainly a lot more optimistic now," Murray was quoted as saying to press. "When I spoke to my team before the trip to Asia I was like, what are the goals here—I just want to be competitive. I want to feel that when I am on the court I am not getting smashed by guys. I wasn't thinking, 'I am going to win tournaments,' or 'I am going to beat guys like Stan or Berrettini.' So this has come as a surprise to me and my team."

Murray moves up 116 spots to No.127 in the rankings.