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No problems for Murray in Monte Carlo

Andy Murray did not have to use a lot of energy in overcoming Edouard Roger-Vasselin © Getty Images

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Andy Murray tasted victory for the first time since returning to the world No. 2 spot by beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-1 6-4 to sail into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The Scot moved up to second in the rankings thanks to his triumph at the Sony Open in Miami in March, overtaking record 17-time grand slam champion Roger Federer.

Murray, twice a Monaco semi-finalist in 2009 and 2011, played solidly on his least favoured clay surface, and did not have to get out of second gear for much of the encounter to win in straight sets.

"It was a good start. I got up 4-0 early which pretty much helped. I was a little bit nervous before the match. I didn't move that well in the beginning but I started to move a bit better towards the end of the first set. I was getting a lot of balls back," Murray told Sky Sports.

The opening game went the way of Murray after both players began the tie well, and the Brit pushed on with an immediate break for 2-0 after Roger-Vasselin blew a 40-0 lead on his own delivery.

It was looking easy for Murray as the British No. 1 held serve, and Roger-Vasselin appeared resigned to dropping the first set.

Losing the second game from a comfortable position clearly played on Roger-Vasselin's mind, and Murray made the Frenchman pay for sloppy errors, sweeping to 4-0 in the blink of an eye.

Roger-Vasselin replaced the zero with a one to his name in the fifth, but it did not halt Murray's progress as he wrapped up the set within the next two games, ending an almost flawless display with 13 winners and just five unforced errors.

The US Open champion was oozing confidence and opened up a 3-1 advantage in the second set but, unlike the first, Roger-Vasselin battled and was able to stick with Murray with three games elapsing.

The serve of Murray was consistent, denying Roger-Vasselin the chance to break back, and after he exchanged a few words with the chair umpire for receiving a warning for taking too long in between points, the Scot was handed the victory when a forehand from Roger-Vasselin bounced out.

In light of the time violation warning, Murray believes the umpire should be aware of what both players are doing rather than the server.

"The only issue I have with it is this year in the four months I've yet to see the returner get a time violation. It's always the server that gets given it," he said.

"You're not allowed to serve if you're opponent isn't ready, so sometimes you're waiting while he's doing his strings or whatever. It's important the umpire checks both players because it's not the server who's always playing slow."

Murray is set to face Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round, and on the encounter he said: "It will be a very tough match. He's played some great tennis this year. When his game's on he's incredibly tough to beat. He likes the surface, and I've lost a couple of times to him on the clay. It will be a good match to see where my game is at and see what I need to work on."

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