For two-time champion Andy Murray of Great Britain, it was a near-perfect performance on day two of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The three-time Grand Slam champion – a winner here in 2008 and 2009 – Tuesday beat Taro Daniel of Japan in straight sets to kick-start his campaign in Doha on a confident note.
Needing a wildcard to enter the Doha field because of the sliding ranking, Murray won 6-2, 6-2 in front of a cheering crowd at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex where the popular Briton looked confident from the first serve. Murray, who fired four aces, has now won 20 matches in Doha against just three losses in six visits.
In another one-sided clash on Centre Court, seventh seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan eased past Croatian qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-2, 6-4 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Also Tuesday, Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics beat South African qualifier Lloyd Harris 6-4, 7-6 (4), Sweden’s Elias Ymer edged Joao Sousa of Portugal 2-6, 6-3, 7-7 while Spain’s Alejandro Davidovic Fokina hammered Tunisian wildcard entry Malek Jaziri 6-1, 6-3.
Murray, building slow momentum in his comeback from injuries and the subsequent lay-off to recover from surgeries – looked every bit like the dominating force he was on the Tour for most of the past decade. The 34-year-old is now 2-1 against Taro in head-to-head and 7-4 for the year.
Murray, now ranked No.87 in the world, had a warning ahead of his match against Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain. “The result today tells me the conditions are good for my game,” Murray, with a towel resting on his shoulders, said. “If I can play to a good level, the courts are going to suit me and here I will make it difficult everyone I am playing against,” Murray said.
A finalist in Doha on two separates occasions (2007 and 2017) besides his title wins in Doha, Murray broke Taro in games six and eight to take the first set in just 36 minutes.
Murray – the only player to have at least seven wins against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – was quick to pick up flaws in Taro’s tactics in game 6 when the 29-year-old Japanese was guilty of an unforced error and a long return to allow the Briton to go 4-2 up in the first set. In game eight, Murray – holding advantage with three breakpoints – closed out the first set as a Taro return went long on set point.
Taro, who beat Murray at the Australian Open last month, exhibited a bit of fight by breaking the Briton in the first game of the second set. But the Briton wasted little breath in breaking his Japanese rival in the next game to draw level at 1-1. Murray saw Taro return long twice on his own serve to go 3-1 up in the second set. Murray did not lose his serve thereafter closing the match with a classic backhand crosscourt shot the Taro did not even attempt to reach on match point.
“Obviously it feels great to be back (in Doha), nice to start with a win. I have not played here for a few years. A lot has changed since I was last here. I’ve always played well here. I love the conditions. Everyone involved in the tournament makes it easy for the players. We get looked after really well. Yes, delighted to be back,” Murray said after his impressive win.
“He (Taro) played very well in Australia. He had a very good run there. He was too good for me there. I tried to be the one dictating out there from the first point. I think I did that today. It was one of the better matches I have played in recent months,” Murray said when about his Japanese conqueror at the Australian Open last month.
When asked about his match-up against Bautista Agut, Murray – the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist in men’s singles – presented a quick assessment. “I think he has also played well here in the past. He beat Djokovic one year and reached the final last year. Obviously he likes the conditions here. He is one of the best on the Tour. He has been on top of his game for a really long time. We played a few times in past, usually pretty long matches, long rallies so yeah, it will be a physical one. I need to get rest,” Murray said.
The business end of things kicks off for the seeded players who will be seen in action today. Top seed David Shapovalov of Canada will play Alex Moclan, second seed Bautista Agut faces Murray, third seed and defending champion Nikoloz Basilashvili takes on Ymer and fourth seed Marin Cilic of Croatia faces Dutch Botic van de Zandschulp.
Andy Murray of Great Britain
