Andy Murray has returned to winning ways with victory over Stan Wawrinka at the Eastbourne International.
The 31-year-old beat Swiss Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 in the first round with both players having been handed wild card entries to the tournament after long-term injuries.
Murray and Wawrinka have both dropped down the world rankings dramatically with current positions of 156th and 225th respectively.
The triumph is the Scot’s first win in almost a year and will raise hope he will compete in Wimbledon next month.
He will now face Kyle Edmund, who replaced him as British number one.
Until last week he had been absent through both injury and his recovery from hip surgery, but a week ahead of his expected return to the All England Club he was given further cause for celebration in progressing to the second round, where on Wednesday he will meet Kyle Edmund.
Murray swiftly established a sense of momentum in the opening set as he served convincingly and demonstrated the abilities that make him such a natural grass-court player.
Though another high-profile opponent Wawrinka – who has missed much of the past year through injury, including three months before his latest return last month – was far from his best.
The 32-year-old made multiple unforced errors on forehand, contributing to Murray breaking him twice in an opening set that lasted less than half an hour.
Murray continued to move fluidly and remained patient in the knowledge Wawrinka was far from his best, breaking him again early in the second before showing signs of nerves while rescuing four break points to build a 5-3 lead.
He also missed his first match point, before a double fault from an opponent ranked 225 ensured a first victory in 350 days.
In Wednesday’s second round match Murray faces the player who while he was injured succeeded him as the British number one.
