Former world No.1 Andy Murray partnered Spain's Feliciano Lopez to a 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 victory at Queen's Club grasscourt championships on Thursday in his first competitive match in five months. 

"I'm really fortunate to be playing tennis again. I absolutely love playing on this court. It's a brilliant place to play," said the three-time Grand Slam champion, by far Britain's most successful player in modern times.  

"I felt quite relaxed in the build-up today but I started to feel a bit nervous walking to the court. You want the nerves and the butterflies in the stomach and I had that today," Murray added.  

The 32-year-old Scot has said a decision on returning to singles will be further down the line especially as no player has come back to singles after hip surgery. 

Murray later said he had been "pain free" and confirmed he would play with Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the Wimbledon men’s doubles and would also play mixed. 

Meanwhile, Lopez did not show any sign of being burdened by the allegations made against him of match-fixing in the Spanish media, which he strongly denied on Wednesday. 

In the men's singles, top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a day of shocks as he claimed two victories on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals. 

However, defending champion Croat Marin Cilic, seeded five, has been knocked out by Argentine Diego Schwartzman with a 6-4 6-4 defeat. 

Elsewhere in the tennis world, top seed Angelique Kerber beat Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 in a heavyweight second-round clash at the Mallorca Open on Thursday.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)