BMW Open 2015: Andy Murray makes fast work of clay opener against Mischa Zverev

Andy Murray needed only 74 minutes to win in Munich

Andy Murray celebrates at the BMW Open (GETTY IMAGES)

Victory was nothing less than Andy Murray should have expected against an opponent ranked 650 places beneath him but the Scot’s opening win of the clay-court season should give him encouragement for the stiffer challenges that lie ahead.

Making a delayed start to his campaign on clay following his wedding last month, Murray needed only 74 minutes to beat Germany’s Mischa Zverev 6-2, 6-2 at the BMW Open in Munich.

Murray never looked back after winning the first four games. The world No 3 did not drop his serve in the match, though he had to defend six break points in the second set. Murray, who made particular inroads on Zverev’s second serves, had seven break points of his own over the two sets and converted four of them.

“It wasn’t too easy,” Murray told the BBC. “He had a different style to most other players and it was tricky playing against a left-hander, but I got the important points.”

The win was a good start for Jonas Bjorkman who, in the temporary absence of Amélie Mauresmo, has taken charge of Murray’s coaching for the first time this week. In Friday’s quarter-finals, Murray will play the Czech Republic’s Lukas Rosol, the world No 41.