Andy Murray unsure on playing at Wimbledon after defeat on competitive return at Queen’s by Nick Kyrgios

Playing his first match for 11 months, Murray showed few signs of the hip injury on which he eventually had surgery in January

Andy Murray shakes hands with Nick Kyrgois after defeat (AFP)

Andy Murray is still uncertain whether he will play at Wimbledon despite an encouraging display in his comeback match at the Fever-Tree Championships here on Tuesday.

Murray, who had described his expectations of beating Nick Kyrgios as “extremely low”, went down 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 to the 23-year-old Australian, but competed well for more than two and a half hours, showed few signs of discomfort from the hip problem which has kept him off court for 11 months and gave plenty of reminders of his outstanding talent.

Afterwards, nevertheless, the Scot was not particularly upbeat about his immediate prospects, saying that he would have to see how his body feels in the wake of his first competitive match for 342 days. With Wimbledon starting in 13 days’ time, one option might be to play in next week’s Nature Valley International at Eastbourne.

“I won't rule anything out just now,” Murray said. “I won't rule out playing Eastbourne and not playing Wimbledon. I wouldn't rule out not playing a tournament next week and trying to get matches like in an exhibition tournament, as well, to get ready for Wimbledon.

“I'm not sure yet. I'm really happy that I got on the match court today and played. It was a close decision. I have not been practising loads at all. I’ve been hitting for a couple of weeks, and at the beginning it was only for 30 minutes or so. I really haven't played a whole lot of tennis.”

Considering that the longest Murray had been on the practice court in the last 11 months had been just 90 minutes, his performance was encouraging, although it was hard to make a definitive judgement given a typically enigmatic display by Kyrgios, who had a hip problem of his own from the fourth game onwards.

Andy Murray couldn't see out the match despite going ahead (Getty)

Kyrgios mixed some cracking ground strokes and thunderbolt serves with lackadaisical rallies in which he failed to put away winners and sometimes moved as if he was playing a casual doubles in the park.

This was certainly a very different Murray to the man who limped out of the Wimbledon quarter-finals in his last competitive appearance last July. Although there were times here when he was cautious in his movement, particularly in the early stages, when it mattered he chased balls both out wide and into the net with all his customary vigour.

Murray hit 16 aces and proved with the quality of his returns that his eye for the ball is as good as ever. Many of his trademark shots were also on show, ranging from thumping cross-court backhands and assured volleys to delicate drop shots and killer slices.

The Scot was given a standing ovation when he walked on court just before 4pm. There was a full turn-out from his entourage, with his coach Jamie Delgado, fitness trainer Matt Little and physios Shane Annun and Mark Bender all courtside, along with his wife Kim and mother Judy.

Kyrgios, who had lost all five of his previous meetings with Murray, has always had a very good relationship with the former world No 1.At the coin toss Kyrgios joked: “Do you know how to do this, Andy?” The answer was immediate as Murray won the opening rally with a forehand winner and took the first game with an ace.

Murray broke serve in the sixth game in unexpected fashion as Kyrgios hit four double faults, including two in a row from deuce. The Australian went for huge second serves, the last of which appeared to land at least two feet beyond the service line. At 2-5 he was at it again, serving another double fault on set point.

Kyrgios seemed ill at ease in the next few games and made a series of negative looks and gestures towards his entourage, but hung on. There were four breaks of serve in the second set before the Australian won the tie-break 7-4.

At 4-5 in the decider Murray saved two match points, the first with a bold foray to the net which prompted the Scot to clench his fist in celebration and encourage the crowd to turn up the volume.

From 30-15 up two games later, however, Murray put an attempted drop shot into the net, missed a forehand and double-faulted. It was a disappointing end to his afternoon, but this was a day when the performance was much more important than the result.

“I thought I did OK,” he said. “I certainly could have done some stuff better, like at the beginning of the second set. I thought my level at times was good, and sometimes not so good.

“I didn't feel like I served particularly well in the third set, but I did some good stuff, as well. I didn't feel amazingly well physically - at the end I was starting to tire a bit - but it was a good test for me for a first match in such a long time.”

Andy Murray made his return to competitive action at Queen's on Tuesday (Getty)

Kyrgios said it had been a tricky match. “On big points, when I won them, I almost felt bad if I showed any emotion,” he said. “I was thinking the guy hadn’t played a match in a year, and I was getting smoked in the first set. I was like: this is not going to be a good look if I lose this match.”

The Australian thought Murray had not played “anywhere near his highest level” but said he had been extremely competitive. “I thought he might have been a little bit nervous,” Kyrgios added. “He would have never doubled on match point when I played him years ago. But that was his first match back. He returns unbelievable. Everything is the same, really. He's just got to get matches under his belt.”

The Australian said he had hurt his hip in the first set. “I split-stepped and my hip pinched a little bit,” he said afterwards. “I was kind of dealing with a little bit of pain for the whole match, as ridiculous as that sounds, because the guy was out from a hip injury.My hip was just a little bit sore.”

Andy Murray shakes hands with Nick Kyrgois after defeat (AFP)

Kyrgios will now meet Kyle Edmund, who has replaced Murray as the British No 1. Edmund, who beat the American Ryan Harrison 7-6, 6-4, is the only Briton through to the second round after Dan Evans let slip a winning position against France’s Adrian Mannarino, the world No 26.

Evans, who has won 16 of his 21 matches since returning to competition from a one-year drugs ban two months ago, served for the match at 5-3 in the final set before Mannarino recovered to win 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.

The 27-year-old from Birmingham might learn on Wednesday whether he has been given a wild card for Wimbledon but said he was prepared to play later this week in a pre-qualifying event.

Novak Djokovic, playing his first match at this tournament since 2010, needed only 65 minutes to beat Australia’s John Millman 6-2, 6-1. He will now face Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.