The Wimbledon champion swept into the second round with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 rout of Japan’s Go Soeda as he works his way to full match fitness after surgery last September.
The fourth seed was never in trouble against the 112th-ranked Soeda, breaking the Japanese player’s service seven times and not having a break point against his own serve.
Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Australian final, said it was the best he had felt on court for 18 months, following his surgery in September.
‘It’s not every single shot that my back hurt on before, but certain shots I’m a lot freer in the movement just now. I hope that continues,’ the Scot said.
‘That was the whole point of having the surgery. So if I was still in pain and stiff and sore then I’d be a bit worried about the next few years.
Four-time champion Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam match under new coach Stefan Edberg with a straight-sets victory in intense heat at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The Swiss sixth seed cruised past Australian wildcard James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour 46 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Federer coped well with heat wave temperatures hovering around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to set up a second-round match against either Czech Radek Stepanek or Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic. ‘It’s great fun to be playing in front of him (Edberg) and it’s been a dream come true for me,’ Federer said.
Top seed Rafael Nadal eased through to the second round of the Australian Open after local hope Bernard Tomic retired with an injury after the first set on Tuesday. The Spaniard won the opening set 6-4 before the Australian called it quits with a thigh injury, to boos from the crowd. Nadal was sympathetic for Tomic’s plight and clapped the Australian as he left the court. ‘I am very sorry for Bernard and I hope you get better very soon,’ Nadal said.
Women’s section saw third seed Maria Sharapova clawed her way into the Australian Open second round on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
She battled past the tough American 6-3, 6-4 but her game was marred by too many errors and a serve that failed to fire. ‘After (missing) my last Grand Slam in New York I have been so looking forward to this one and I was really happy to start,’ she said.
Victoria Azarenka moved into the Australian Open second round but she made a meal of the match and looked far from her best in blazing conditions. The second seed overcame world number 91 Johanna Larsson 7-6 (7/2), 6-2. The Belarusian took an hour and 46 minutes to get past the Swede under 43C temperatures.
The fourth seed was never in trouble against the 112th-ranked Soeda, breaking the Japanese player’s service seven times and not having a break point against his own serve.
Murray, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Australian final, said it was the best he had felt on court for 18 months, following his surgery in September.
‘It’s not every single shot that my back hurt on before, but certain shots I’m a lot freer in the movement just now. I hope that continues,’ the Scot said.
‘That was the whole point of having the surgery. So if I was still in pain and stiff and sore then I’d be a bit worried about the next few years.
Four-time champion Roger Federer won his first Grand Slam match under new coach Stefan Edberg with a straight-sets victory in intense heat at the Australian Open on Tuesday. The Swiss sixth seed cruised past Australian wildcard James Duckworth 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour 46 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Federer coped well with heat wave temperatures hovering around 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) to set up a second-round match against either Czech Radek Stepanek or Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic. ‘It’s great fun to be playing in front of him (Edberg) and it’s been a dream come true for me,’ Federer said.
Top seed Rafael Nadal eased through to the second round of the Australian Open after local hope Bernard Tomic retired with an injury after the first set on Tuesday. The Spaniard won the opening set 6-4 before the Australian called it quits with a thigh injury, to boos from the crowd. Nadal was sympathetic for Tomic’s plight and clapped the Australian as he left the court. ‘I am very sorry for Bernard and I hope you get better very soon,’ Nadal said.
Women’s section saw third seed Maria Sharapova clawed her way into the Australian Open second round on Tuesday with a straight-sets win over Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
She battled past the tough American 6-3, 6-4 but her game was marred by too many errors and a serve that failed to fire. ‘After (missing) my last Grand Slam in New York I have been so looking forward to this one and I was really happy to start,’ she said.
Victoria Azarenka moved into the Australian Open second round but she made a meal of the match and looked far from her best in blazing conditions. The second seed overcame world number 91 Johanna Larsson 7-6 (7/2), 6-2. The Belarusian took an hour and 46 minutes to get past the Swede under 43C temperatures.