Andy Murray Cruises in First Match at Australian Open, Represents a Real Threat

Andy Murray started his quest for his first Grand Slam with a comprehensive victory over Slovakian Karol Beck in the first round of the Australian Open.

Murray, ranked fifth in the world, established a convincing 6-3, 6-1, 4-2 lead before Beck called it quits after being broken in the third set.

The Scotsman returned beautifully and rarely looked troubled, coasting into the second round in what can only really be described as second gear.

Murray still isn’t considered a credible threat to win it all in Melbourne, and despite making it to the finals 12 months ago, most pundits and experts have at least four other guys ahead of Murray on their list of potential winners. I guess that’s why he’s the No. 5 seed, right?

While Nadal and Federer are obviously the clear favorites, Murray has every right to be ranked at least on a par with Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling. Federer and Djokovic threw down the gauntlet on Day One with a pair of tennis clinics, and Murray was equally as impressive today.

With the exception of some service problems stemming from his ball toss being caught in intermittent gusts of wind, Murray started off strong against Beck, who is ranked just inside the top 100. Murray hit a lot of slice off the backhand and mixed up his game nicely, incorporating a heavier forehand than we’re used to seeing and even a couple of drop shots.

As fundamentally sound as Murray was, Beck didn’t help himself. Murray battered his second serve all day, stepping right up to the baseline and asserting himself from the first stroke of the rally. On the defensive from the get-go, Beck made 18 unforced errors in that opening set alone.

Murray had a similar start to the second set, buoyed by a much stronger service game.

He jumped out to an early break and later went ahead 4-1 with a running forehand down the line after setting up the point with that one-handed slice and double-handed rocket. That one passing shot gave the Brit all the momentum he needed as he raced through the next two games to establish a two-set advantage.

Murray didn’t drop a point on his first serve in that middle set and considering how comfortable he was dictating the tempo from the baseline, there was no real need to forage to the net as often as the 28-year-old.

Beck continued to spray the ball far and wide in the third set, and even after the injury time-out to tend to his right shoulder, he didn’t look like putting up too much of a fight.

Murray got frustrated with himself at times, but his speed and footwork remained solid and he got the breakthrough he needed to break Beck to establish a 4-2 lead. As it turned out, that was it for the Slovakian.

Beck retired as soon as he dropped serve, giving Murray a comprehensive victory that was only minutes away anyway.

Murray will now play either Illya Marchenko from the Ukraine or Spaniard Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo in the second round. He is still potentially on course for a third-round match with No. 32 seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who advanced in four sets against Michael Berrer today.

It’s not too necessary to look beyond that, but Murray is in fourth-seed Robin Soderling’s quarter alongside Marcos Baghdatis and returning Juan Martin Del Potro and he is also in Rafa Nadal’s half.

Murray isn’t the favorite to win the tournament and there are certainly better players than him vying for the championship. But all things considered, Murray has matched the performances we’ve seen from the other big contenders and he is a real threat for a run deep into the second week.