Murray eases to victory in Valencia

ANDY Murray did not have to be at his best as he wrapped up a comfortable victory in the first round of the Valencia Open 500 last night.

Facing Spanish wildcard Daniel Gimeno-Traver, the Scot overcame a sloppy spell in the first set to secure a 6-3, 6-1 win.

Murray started impressively on the Stadium Court and immediately raced into a 3-0 first-set lead with two breaks of serve – the first-serve percentages at that stage reading Murray 80 per cent, Gimeno-Traver 27 per cent.

He was pegged back to 4-3 after the Spaniard got one of the breaks back, but that was as close as the match got. Murray took the next two games, closing out the set 6-3 with a third break on his second set point.

He broke in the fourth game of the second set and from that point the result was never in doubt. A Gimeno-Traver double fault brought up the break point from which the world No4 went 5-1 up, and he then served out the match with minimal fuss to give him encouragement for his second-round clash with Leonardo Mayer. The Argentine upset Russia's Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-3 to take his place as the next obstacle in Murray's path.