Andy Murray vs. Mikhail Kukushkin: Score and Reaction from 2015 Wimbledon

Andy Murray had to battle a little harder than he would have liked Tuesday, but he ultimately beat Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets to start his 2015 Wimbledon campaign with a win. The set scores were 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4.  

Kukushkin didn't make life easy on Murray, nearly stealing the second set with three straight breaks while only losing in a tiebreak, but it was clear Murray was simply the better player. His opponent will have little problem admitting that.

Tuesday's match was played in the middle of a heat wave, and Murray spent far too much time on the court compared to some of the other favourites for the title. The heavier workload may come back to haunt him in the later rounds.

Kukushkin looked like an interesting first-round opponent coming into the match, as a feisty defender who always seems to play his best tennis against the top stars. The Kazakh was a good test for Murray to see where his form stands heading into the tournament.

Football manager Harry Redknapp thought Murray would have little trouble making a deep run in the tournament, however:

Early in the match, it became clear Kukushkin believed in pulling off the upset. He took plenty of risks from the baseline and impressed with several strong winners, forcing Murray to move more than he would have liked.

But while Kukushkin looked impressive, so did Murray. The Kazakh always appeared to be playing on the edge, while Murray picked his spots with more care and never looked flustered, even when he had to serve to stay in the set down 5-4. He won his serve game, promptly breaking Kukushkin's serve, and he finished the set in dominant fashion.

Speaking to 5Live Sport (via BBC Tennis), Pat Cash liked what he saw from the 2013 Wimbledon champion:

The 28-year-old Murray started taking more control in the second set, as his serve started to click and Kukushkin was forced out of the lane during nearly every rally. Before long, Murray broke Kukushkin's serve again, jumping out to a 5-3 lead and the chance to take the second set on his own serve.

But true to his reputation, Kukushkin battled back. Firing his returns deeper and more into Murray's body, he shocked the home crowd to snatch his second consecutive break, giving himself a chance to stay in the set. The Daily Record was impressed:

The Kazakh even managed a third break in a row, but Murray halted his slide just in time, forcing a tiebreak. In that tiebreak, Murray once again found his serve, blasting his opponent off of the court to run to a quick 5-1 lead, eventually winning it 7-3.

Cash thought the result of the tiebreak had more to do with Kukushkin's sudden struggles than Murray's improved play, however:

Murray managed to run out to a quick 4-2 lead in the third set, but it was visible that the Scot wasn't enjoying himself on the court. He had to go deep in that second set, in the blistering heat, and he wasted far more energy than he would have liked with an eye on the coming days.

Kukushkin could no longer resist Murray's powerful assault in the same way, and the home fans started preparing to celebrate a British win in Round 1. After three hard-fought sets, the win was Murray's. Team GB shared the final scores, but he acknowledged that those didn't tell the whole story:

Kukushkin deserves a ton of credit for putting up an excellent fight, and if his forehand hadn't abandoned him during the tiebreak, the match could have had a very different outcome.

Murray showed his high spirits and sense of humour in an interview before the match, which you can watch here:

It's great to see Murray enter the tournament with a laid-back attitude, as his emotions and consistency have been his biggest weaknesses in the past. But the way he completely lost the pedals late in the second set is an ill omen, and something like that simply cannot happen when he goes up against one of the other favourites.

Murray wasted a little more energy that he would have liked Tuesday. We'll find out how that will impact his next match when the 2013 champion returns to the court for Round 2.

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