Andy Murray eases through Boss Open first round in Stuttgart

Andy Murray began his campaign at the Boss Open in Stuttgart with victory over Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.

The two-time Wimbledon champion lost in the semi-finals of the second-tier Challenger event in Surbiton last week and has headed to Germany to continue his grass-court season.

He lost the first three games to qualifier O’Connell but recovered strongly to claim a 6-4 6-3 victory and reach the second round.

Next up, Murray will take on seventh seed Alexander Bublik, who defeated American Denis Kudla, the Scot’s conqueror in Surbiton.

Murray has won two of his three previous matches against Kazakh Bublik but lost their most recent clash in Indian Wells in March.

“I thought I played some good tennis at times,” the 35-year-old reflected after his fourth win on grass this summer.

“I didn’t serve my best today and obviously got off to a slow start, but once I got the break back in the first set I played some pretty good points.

“It was quite solid from there but yes, I would like to serve a bit better.”