British tennis star Andy Murray says he hopes to end the 2023 season with a strong finish at the 2023 ATP Zhuhai Championships.

Former world No. 1 Murray will play China's wildcard Mo Yecong in the first round on Thursday.

Andy Murray of Britain hits a return during the men's singles first round match against Corentin Moutet of France at the 2023 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Aug. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

"I'm still going in the right direction and did so well at the end of last year, so got an opportunity with these last five or six tournaments at the end of the year to do a strong finish," Murray said on Wednesday.

The 36-year old hopes to repeat his success at the ATP 250 event in China's south coastal city of Zhuhai, where he won the title in the inaugural edition in 2019.

Murray has suffered a few setbacks since he tried to return to the tour after hip surgery. Four years ago, he notched his first victory after surgery in Zhuhai.

"At that time I had just finished my hip surgery, I didn't know if I could play such an aggressive match," he said.

"And I gradually gained confidence after this tournament," he added.

The Briton also praised the recent progress made by Chinese tennis players.

"I think on the women's side, China have had a lot of quality players over the past few years. On the men's side, I've practiced with Wu Yibing and I played earlier in this year with Zhang Zhizhen. They are both great players and have an aggressive style." he said.

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