Andy Murray said that his comeback from career-saving hip surgery was progressing better than expected despite going down fighting in the China Open quarter-finals on Friday.
The 32-year-old Briton lost 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) to top seed Dominic Thiem in Beijing, but said: "I think this (week) was maybe the best in terms of how I played since I came back.
"It was great for me, I played three matches in four days, which is quite a lot.
"Actually I felt better than I expected today, as well," said the former number one, who had a major operation in January and only returned to singles tennis in August. Asked by AFP if he was further ahead than he expected to be in his comeback, he replied: "Yeah, maybe.
"I'm getting there, this week is better than last week, I hope next week is better than this week," the three-time Grand Slam champion said.
"That's how I have to try to keep going to see where my limit is, I don't think I'm at that limit now.
"I think I can keep improving. That's what this week has shown me."
- Barty battles through -
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