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Tennis-Murray into second round
Rising British talent Andy Murray advanced to the second round of the Auckland Open with an erratic 7-5 6-2 win over Kenneth Carlsen.
Rising British talent Andy Murray advanced to the second round of the Auckland Open on Monday with an erratic 7-5 6-2 win over Kenneth Carlsen.
Eighth-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez was not so lucky, however, crashing out in the first round to Czech Robin Vik 7-6 6-1.
Murray, tipped to succeed Tim Henman as Britain's number one, produced shots of pure brilliance mixed in with a poor service game throughout the match.
The 18-year-old jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set although the blustery wind had caused him to throw in six double faults in his first three service games.
Carlsen however fought back to level the set at 5-5, with Murray venting his frustration by smashing his racket into the ground and receiving a warning from the umpire.
The world number 62 saved two break points in his next service game then broke Dane Carlsen for the first set.
He raced out to a 5-2 lead in the second set before Carlsen took time out to receive treatment on an ankle injury.
Not sharp
The time out only delayed the inevitable and Murray broke Carlsen in the next game to seal the win.
"It's difficult to play matches when it's windy, especially at the beginning of the year, because it's difficult to get into a rhythm," Murray told reporters.
"I didn't feel that sharp at the start of the match. I was 4-0 up but I didn't feel like I was playing great.
"I won and that's the most important thing. I played better in the second set and hopefully that will give me confidence in my next match."
In other matches on Monday, Germany's Florian Mayer took just 63 minutes to beat New Zealand wildcard Dan King-Turner 6-2 6-2 while Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka beat Czech Tomas Zib 6-3 6-4.
