Andy Murray did not hide his disappointment after his second-round Australian Open defeat to Taro Daniel in January, but the former World No. 1 didn’t have to wait long to banish those demons.

Playing at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open as a wild card, the 34-year-old produced a strong first-round performance to brush past Daniel 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday.

The Scot was pleased with how he dealt with the threat of Daniel this time around. “He played very well in Australia, he had a very good run there and was too good for me there. I tried to be the one dictating from the first point, and I thought I did that well. It was one of the better matches I’ve played in recent months.”

Murray is a two-time champion and four-time finalist in Doha, and he looked happy to be back as he hit 11 winners and broke Daniel twice to ease to the first set.

World No. 110 Daniel broke in the first game of the second set to momentarily halt the Murray charge, but a trademark backhand winner that sealed an immediate break back was typical of how the Scot struck the ball throughout and he went on to seal victory in one hour, 20 minutes.

Murray now faces second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round. The Brit will seek to increase his 3-1 ATP Head2Head series lead over the World No. 16 Spaniard, but is not taking anything for granted despite his excellent record in Doha.

“Obviously the results from 12 years ago aren’t going to affect the results this week,” said Murray when asked about his previous titles in Doha. “But what it tells me is that the conditions here are good for my game, so if I can play to a good level the courts are going to suit me here and I’ll make it difficult for everyone I play against.”

Montepellier champion and seventh seed Alexander Bublik beat Slovakian qualifier Jozef Kovalik 6-2, 6-4 with a powerful performance earlier on Tuesday.

The World No. 31 Kazakh hit 25 winners including seven aces, breaking his opponent four times to reach the second round in Doha for the third consecutive year. He now faces Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated Jiri Vesely 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4.

Holger Rune survived a big scare to notch his first victory of the season with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Zizou Bergs at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille.

“At first it was tough,” said the #NextGenATP Dane after the match. “I was struggling a lot, making a lot of errors. He came out and played very well in the beginning, so I was a bit stressed.

“I tried to think like a professional, I tried to find a way. I’ve played too many matches in my career where I’ve lost the first set, so I just told myself, ‘Let’s stick in there, play every ball in the court, and let’s see what happens’.”

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World No. 90 Rune, who competed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in November, came into the match with an 0-4 tour-level record in 2022 and looked to be in trouble again after Bergs won the first five games of the match and eased to the first set.

Rune belatedly found his game in the second set, however, and his confidence looked to have been fully restored as he surged to a double-break lead in the deciding set.

The 18-year-old, playing on the indoor hard courts of Marseille after an unsuccessful two-week stint on the South American clay, held his nerve to claim victory and let out a roar of relief when Bergs sent a forehand long on match point.

Rune will look to back up his win in a second-round clash with fourth seed Aslan Karatsev.

Three-time Marseille champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated compatriot Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-4 to book a second-round meeting with third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Tsonga increased his ATP Head2Head series lead to 10-4 with a convincing performance against Simon, who himself won the title in Marseille in 2007 and 2015. Former World No. 5 Tsonga served 11 aces as his opponent failed to register a break of serve in the match.

Hugo Gaston came out on top in another all-French clash, defeating Corentin Moutet 6-4, 6-4 to set a second-round meeting with top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Gaston was a constant threat on serve in the pair’s first tour-level meeting, breaking World No. 107 Moutet to secure his first tour-level win of the year.

Roman Safiullin notched his first tour-level victory since starring for Team Russia at the ATP Cup in January, upsetting seventh-seeded Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(3).

No. 20 Reilly Opelka, +3
The 24-year-old has jumped three spots back into the Top 20 in the ATP Rankings after he clinched his third tour-level title at the Dallas Open. The American did not drop a set en route to the trophy, overcoming Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Adrian Mannarino and countrymen John Isner and Jenson Brooksby. Read Dallas Final Report & Watch Highlights.

View Latest ATP Rankings

No. 14 Diego Schwartzman, +1
The Argentine has risen one place following his run to the final at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. The 29-year-old, who lifted the title on home soil last season, fell to Norway’s Casper Ruud in the championship match. Read Buenos Aires Final Report & Watch Highlights.

No. 95 Jiri Lehecka, +42 (Career High)
The 20-year-old has soared into the Top 100 after he broke new ground on his tour-level debut at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. The Czech qualifier advanced to the semi-finals in Rotterdam, upsetting World No. 12 Denis Shapovalov, Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti en route. He was eventually stopped by World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the Greek then losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. Read Rotterdam Final Report & Watch Highlights.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 17 Taylor Fritz, +2 (Career High)
No. 23 John Isner, +3
No. 45 Jenson Brooksby, +9 (Career High)
No. 87 Andy Murray, +8
No. 100 Francisco Cerundolo, +7 (Career High)

You can call Brandon Nakashima’s performance on Monday evening a ‘Nakashima Knockout’.

The 20-year-old ousted fellow American Denis Kudla 6-1, 6-1 in 54 minutes to reach the second round of the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com.

The ATP 250 holds fond memories for Nakashima, who reached the quarter-finals in Florida two years ago as an 18-year-old. He will try to advance that far again when he plays seventh seed Adrian Mannarino or British qualifier Liam Broady next.

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Nakashima gave his opponent few opportunities to work his way into points, winning all but one of his second-serve points. The former University of Virginia student-athlete did not face a break point and converted five of the eight opportunities he earned.

In a match that took more than three times longer, Australian John Millman eliminated eighth seed Maxime Cressy of the United States 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 7-6(3) after two hours and 54 minutes.

The serve-and-volleying Cressy put pressure on Millman with his attacking style in the windy conditions throughout the match. But the 32-year-old remained calm under pressure to battle on.

“He’s relentless, massive serve, first and second. [He is] always looking to come forward, whether it’s on his service games or return games. There is an incredible amount of mental application required to get through your service games and then hopefully take those one or two in his,” Millman said. “It was a really challenging match. It was really unfortunate someone had to lose that one.”

Steve Johnson clawed past local resident Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 after two hours and one minute. The American saved the only break point he faced against the former World No. 5, a two-time major finalist.

In other action, German Oscar Otte reached the second round with a 7-6(8), 6-3 victory against Japanese lefty Yoshihito Nishioka and Italian Andreas Seppi defeated German Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 6-4.

Carlos Alcaraz is mature beyond his 18 years, which he showed in a comeback win Monday evening at the Rio Open presented by Claro.

Down a lopsided set against a familiar foe in fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar, Alcaraz remained calm. The seventh seed cleaned up his game and showed no fear of taking the initiative in points to rally past Munar 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 for a place in the second round.

Last year in Marbella, where the pair also met on clay, Munar defeated Alcaraz in straight sets. But this time, the younger Spaniard was unrelenting.

After an opening set in which he struggled to find rhythm, Alcaraz broke early in the second set and never looked back. From a stunning lob to a sliding one-handed backhand shovel winner, everything went right for the teen from then on, including fearless forays into the forecourt.

The World No. 29, who is as physically fit as many ATP Tour veterans, lost just three games in the final two sets. He saved 10 of the 13 break points he faced to triumph after two hours and 15 minutes. Fittingly, Alcaraz finished the clash with a perfect backhand drop volley winner.

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Rio de Janeiro will always be a special city for Alcaraz, who upset Albert Ramos-Vinolas there two years ago as a 16-year-old. That victory made him the youngest tour-level match winner since 16-year-old Cristian Garin at Vina del Mar in 2013.

The seventh seed will next play Argentine Federico Delbonis or Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan.

In other Monday action, Spaniard Pedro Martinez eliminated 17-year-old Juncheng Shang 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 43 minutes. Martinez saved all three break points he faced against the former junior World No. 1 and will next play third seed Diego Schwartzman.

Another Spaniard, Pablo Andujar, also advanced. In a battle of 36-year-olds, Andujar ousted Pablo Cuevas 7-6(2), 7-5 after two hours and 12 minutes.

Former Top 10 Frenchman Richard Gasquet defeated Mikael Ymer to reach the second round at the Open 13 Provence in Marseille, where he will meet World No. 7 Andrey Rublev.

Ymer’s run to the semi-finals in Montpellier two weeks ago included a win over Gael Monfils, but the young Swede was unable to find that level against Gasquet. The Frenchman broke Ymer three times on his way to a 6-4, 7-5 victory at a tournament where he has reached the semi-finals twice before.

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Fifth seed Ilya Ivashka produced a solid performance to defeat Slovakian Norbert Gombos 7-6(5), 6-3. The Belarusian edged the first set tie-break and then stepped up his level to complete the win over World No. 114 Gombos in one hour, 43 minutes.

The Belarusian will hope to improve on his run in Marseille in 2018, when he made the semi-finals as a qualifier. “This tournament was like a starting point of my ATP career, because it was my first great result,” he said after the match with Gombos. “I really enjoy playing here.”

The World No. 49 will now face Stefano Travaglia in the second round, after the Italian beat Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-6(1).

Karen Khachanov overpowered World No. 51 Mackenzie McDonald in a tight encounter in the first round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Monday.

Both men made few errors in a high-quality match, but the Russian was able to find something extra at key moments to run out a 7-6(3), 6-3 winner in one hour, 25 minutes.

Khachanov has enjoyed a strong start to 2022, reaching the final at the Adelaide International 1 (l. to Monfils) and pushing eventual champion Rafael Nadal to four sets in the third round of the Australian Open in January, and he had to bring his best to his opening-round match.

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World No. 51 McDonald was making his first appearance in Doha but he immediately looked comfortable in his surroundings and proved a tough test for the 2018 Rolex Paris Masters champion.

The match opened with a set of fine margins that was dominated by serve. There were no break points and Khachanov won 87 per cent (26/30) points behind his first delivery, with his American opponent just behind on 86 per cent (18/21). A tie-break was inevitable, and it was Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Khachanov who found more consistency at the end to take it 7/3.

The setback did not deter McDonald, who created the first three break points of the match in the second game of the second set. He could not convert, however, Khachanov showing real quality under pressure to reel off five points and hold, including a delightful drop volley at 30/40.

McDonald was made to pay for not taking his chances, the Russian clinically taking his first break point of the match for a 3-2 lead and the sixth seed looked a lot more settled from then on. He sealed victory by thumping a forehand return winner on match point.

The win moves Khachanov’s ATP Head2Head series lead over McDonald to 3-0. His next opponent will be either Belgian David Goffin or Pune finalist Emil Ruusuvuori.

Elsewhere, Botic van de Zandschulp pulled through a second-set lapse to secure a 6-2, 7-6(5) win over Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano.

The World No. 50 was looking strong at a set and 4-2 up but a series of unforced errors from the Dutchman allowed Fabbiano back into the match. Van de Zandschulp was able to regain his composure in time for the second set tie-break to seal victory and set a second-round clash with fourth seed Marin Cilic.

Soonwoo Kwon marked his Doha debut with a 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4 victory over American qualifier Christopher Eubanks.

The South Korean was broken three times as he was blown away in the second set, but the 2021 Nur-Sultan champion regathered himself to take the decider, losing only seven points behind his first serve in the match.

Top seed Denis Shapovalov will face World No. 73 Alex Molcan in the second-round after the Slovakian beat another qualifier, Australian Christopher O’Connell, 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-4.

Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni have wasted no time clicking as a team.

Gonzalez and Molteni, who joined forces at last year’s US Open, won their fourth ATP Tour title as a team on Sunday when they defeated Fabio Fognini and Horacio Zeballos 6-1, 6-1 to triumph at the Argentina Open.

The champions won 53 per cent of their return points and broke serve five times in their 46-minute victory. They did not face a break point against the Italian-Argentine duo.

Gonzalez and Molteni lost just one set en route to the crown. They are now 23-7 together, including title runs in Nut-Sultan and Stockholm last year as well as Cordoba last week.

Fognini and Zeballos were competing together for the first time. Zeballos’s full-time partner is Spaniard Marcel Granollers, with whom he has played in the Nitto ATP Finals twice (2020-21).

Top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer claimed their first ATP Tour title as a team on Sunday when they defeated Briton Lloyd Glasspool and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara 7-6(4), 6-4 to win the Dallas Open.

“We’re super happy about this title. This is our first title together. We’ve been doing great things together. We started the year playing great, maybe not having the best results or the results we wanted, but we kept working together as a team, working on those little details,” Arevalo said. “We started seeing those results that we wanted.”

Entering the week, the new tandem was 2-3 on the season. But Arevalo and Rojer did not lose a set in Dallas to lift the trophy.

“We’re hoping to have a good year together. The biggest thing for us is to keep working. We’re a new team, so normally how this goes [is] you put in a lot of work and results come and go, but hopefully we’ll get on a stretch where results start happening for us,” Rojer said. “It certainly did this week.”

Arevalo and Rojer saved all three break points they faced and won 81 per cent of their service points to earn the title after one hour and 27 minutes.

Glasspool and Heliovaara were pursuing their second tour-level trophy together after emerging victorious in Marseille last year.