The Scot, a three-time champion at the event, triumphed 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach the last-32 stage of the season's penultimate Association of Tennis Professionals Masters 1000 tournament at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. 

Following a long-term hip injury, Murray returned to singles action in August at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

"The court is by far the fastest conditions that I have played in since I came back," the 32-year-old double Olympic gold medallist, competing after accepting a wildcard, said. 

"I really struggled with that early on.

"I was mistiming the ball.

"I felt quite slow on the court, and he was pretty much dictating all of the points.

"I managed kind of early on in the second set to start putting a bit more on my ball, going for my shots a little bit more and just trying to hit through the court a bit more, get him on the defensive, which I did pretty well."

Murray, who reached his first singles quarter-final in more than a year at last week's China Open, will now go onto face 10th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over the United States' Sam Querrey,

Fellow Briton Kyle Edmund suffered a sixth successive loss as he fell 6-4, 7-6 at the hands of France's Jérémy Chardy.

The result means Edmund will lose his status as British number one to either Cameron Norrie or Dan Evans.

Norrie reached the second round in Shanghai after defeating France's Gilles Simon 7-5, 6-2.

Ninth-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils also advanced following a 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego, but 14th-seeded Argentinean Diego Schwartzman has been eliminated after losing 6-7, 2-6 against Canada's Vasek Pospisil.

Among the other players progressing was Canada's Denis Shapovalov, who overcame the US's Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-2.

It earns him a clash with top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

Action in Shanghai is due to continue tomorrow.