Carlos Alcaraz won his first match since his victory at Wimbledon, beating David Goffin at the Hopman Cup in France.
The world number one’s 4-6 6-4 10-8 win helped Spain level their tie with Belgium at 1-1, after team-mate Rebeka Masarova lost to Elise Mertens.
The Spaniard beat 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday to win the Wimbledon title.
The Hopman Cup is an international mixed-teams indoor tennis tournament.
The event made its return this week after a four-year absence, having been replaced by the short-lived ATP Cup men’s team event.
Alcaraz did not have the smoothest transition back to clay on his debut in the event.
The 20-year-old dropped his serve twice to surrender the opening set to Goffin, but responded by levelling the match before he came from 0-4 down in the super tie-break to wrap up victory.
Alcaraz and Masarova later lost 6-3 6-1 to Goffin and Mertens in the mixed doubles as Belgium won the tie 2-1.
Spain next face Croatia – who beat Belgium 2-1 – on Saturday, with the winners of their three-team group facing Switzerland in the final on Sunday.
The last edition of the Hopman Cup in 2019, which was named after Australian great Harry Hopman, saw Roger Federer lead Switzerland to the title against Germany.
