• Brisbane International

Shaky Murray shows Lendl size of task ahead

Andy Murray took two sets to really get warmed up © Getty Images

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Andy Murray gave new coach Ivan Lendl cause for concern as he stuttered past Mikhail Kukushkin in his opening match at the Brisbane International.

World No. 4 Murray struggled with his serve, particularly in the opening two sets, in a 5-7 6-3 6-2 victory that took two hours and nine minutes to complete - but Lendl, who was appointed last week, will be cheered by an impressive performance during the third frame.

In fairness to Murray, he seemed to be struggling with a lower back problem and also called for the trainer to remove strapping from his knee.

Murray won three of his final five tournaments during 2011, although his season came to a jarring halt when he was forced to withdraw from the ATP World Tour Finals in London due to a groin injury, having lost his opening match to David Ferrer.

The priority in the early stages of 2012 is to generate momentum before the Australian Open, where he has been a losing finalist in each of the last two years. But in the early stages against Kukushkin, he seemed nowhere near ready to pose a threat to Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal.

The Scot was broken in the first game of the match and soon after was 4-0 down, with his first-serve percentage hovering around the 50% mark and his second serves carrying little threat - a problem that has dogged him for some time.

Yet Murray always has the capability to turn a match on its head and, after finding a foothold, levelled at 5-5. His second delivery was still cannon fodder - but that was less of a problem because, having taken a little speed off, his first efforts were now finding the target.

However, just when it seemed the momentum had shifted towards him, Murray erred again - and Kukushkin helped himself to the next two games, and the set.

Murray squared the match by taking a second set during which he again struggled for rhythm and, in truth, was probably fortunate that his opponent was struggling to revisit the heights he scaled early on.

All of Murray's rust had been blown away by the time the decider rolled around, and the 87-place gap between the pair in the world rankings became all too apparent as Murray marched into round two, where he will meet Gilles Muller.

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