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Murray off the mark in China

Andy Murray is competing in the China Open for the first time © Getty Images

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Paul-Henri Mathieu was more speed-bump than Great Wall as Andy Murray saw off the Frenchman in straight sets in the first round of the China Open on Tuesday.

Murray, the second seed, took less than 75 minutes to cruise to a 6-2 6-3 and start his tournament in perfect fashion.

It looked like a mismatch on paper as Murray stepped out against an opponent ranked over 100 places below him and who he had beaten on all three occasions they had met previously, and so it proved as Murray broke twice in the first set while dropping just three points on his own serve.

Mathieu was able to create more problems in the second set but Murray saved both the break points the veteran created, taking another two of his own to progress to the second round in his first appearance at the Beijing tournament.

At the top of the draw, No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic breezed into the second round with a 6-1 6-3 win over Chinese wildcard Mao-Xin Gong. Playing in his first ATP Tour event since the US Open, the world No. 2 was rarely troubled against a player ranked more than 350 places below him, and the Serb dominated the encounter from the outset, dropping just nine points on his serve to seal a second-round clash against American Mardy Fish.

Third seed Robin Soderling battled back from a set down to beat Tommy Robredo 4-6 6-4 6-1. Despite losing just seven points on his serve in the opening set, the world No. 5 was broken in the only break of the set, but dug deep to move into the third round. He will now play Nicolas Almagro who eased past Lukasz Kubot in straight sets.

Mikhail Youzhny paid the price for his heroics at the Malaysian Open, falling in straight sets to Ivan Ljubicic. The world No. 8, who came from a set down to claim his second title of the year i Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, had no answer to the big-serving Croat, who fired 15 aces in a 6-3 7-6(3) win.

Eighth seed David Ferrer beat Denis Istomin 6-4 6-1, while Marin Cilic also progressed.

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