Sports / Tennis

Murray and Nadal ease into second round of China Open

(Agency) Updated: 2016-10-05 17:19

Murray and Nadal ease into second round of China Open

Andy Murray of Great Britain takes pictures with fans after defeating Andreas Seppi of Italy during China Open's first round match in Beijing, Oct 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

World number two Andy Murray overwhelmed Italy's Andreas Seppi 6-2 7-5 and second seed Rafael Nadal crushed veteran Italian Paolo Lorenzi 6-1 6-1 to reach the China Open second round on Tuesday.

Briton Murray, three-times a grand slam champion, showed no signs of fatigue having just recovered from a thigh injury and wrapped up the match in under an hour and 30 minutes.

"I thought I did okay considering I hadn't played much the past couple of weeks. I think I can do better," Murray told reporters.

"There was some good stuff in there. With each match, I'll play better hopefully. No injuries. Felt fine. Just need matches now," the top seed added.

Murray and Nadal ease into second round of China Open

Andy Murray of Great Britain plays against Andreas Seppi of Italy during China Open's first round match in Beijing, Oct 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Murray will play the winner of the all-Russian clash between Andrey Kuznetsov and Konstantin Kravchuk in the next round.

Nadal, who won the China Open in 2005, won 79 percent of his first-serve points to breeze past the 34-year-old Lorenzi.

Murray and Nadal ease into second round of China Open

Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after defeating Italy's Paolo Lorenzi in China's Open men's singles first round match in Beijing, Oct 4, 2016. [Photo/Agencies] 

The 30-year-old Spaniard will next face compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas or French qualifier Adrian Mannarino.

Third seed Milos Raonic beat Germany's Florian Mayer 6-4 7-6(1) and the big-serving Canadian will meet either Argentina's Guido Pella or Tunisia's Malek Jaziri in the next round.

During a rain-hit day in Beijing, Germany's Alexander Zverev upset fourth seed Dominic Thiem 4-6 6-1 6-3 to advance to a second-round clash with American Jack Sock.

Defending champion and world number one Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament due to an elbow injury.

Most Popular
What's Hot
Highlights
Special