Andy Murray completed a straight-sets victory over Nicolas Mahut to advance into the third round of the AEGON Championships at Queen’s and banish the memory of defeat to the Frenchman 12 months ago.
Top seed and world number two Murray took the first set on Wednesday before persistent rain meant the players had to return to centre court today to finish the match, with the Scot eventually recording a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) win.
The reigning US Open champion withdrew from Roland Garros due to a back injury but his return to action at Queen’s was fairly straightforward with Mahut not able to conjure up a second successive upset.
With play resuming at 2-2 in the second set each game went with the serve leading to a tie-break, with Murray setting up match point with an exquisite forehand down the line before completing his straight-sets win on the next point.
Murray conceded it was harder to get into the swing of the match due to the disruptions and wants to build on his performance in his third-round match with Australian Marinko Matosevic later this afternoon.
“I think it was a tough start,” he told BBC Two. “He hit some great volleys, today especially. He made it very difficult in the second set. It is tough to get into a rhythm with all the delays. I managed to get through it in the end and hopefully it’s a good warm-up for later.”