Andy Murray put away an off-colour Robin Soderling in the opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Sunday.
Having lost out on a semi-final berth by a game in the tournament last year, Murray, cheered on by a capacity crowd of 17,500, didn't leave much to chance as he claimed the Group A encounter 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 20 minutes. Breaking Soderling's serve in the third and seventh games, Murray bagged the first set in just 33 minutes.
"I played very good match tactically today, very smart," said Murray. "Robin is a great player, he has played most of his best tennis on indoor courts. So to come out there and beat him with that scoreline is special."
And the stoic tennis by the Brit only seemed to magnify Soderling's fumbling effort on the day. The Swede came to London on the back of his first Masters win in Paris and started favourite against Murray, whom he replaced as World No 4 on Monday.
But the slower court seemed to have caught Soderling on the wrong foot.
He committed 26 unforced errors, and apart from a brief period in the beginning of the second set where he tried to salvage the situation, Soderling looked uncomfortable in the setting at the O2 Arena. And it all culminated when he served a double fault to give Murray a 4-3 edge in the second set.
"It was definitely tough today," said Soderling. "I didn't start off well, I think in the first set I wasn't really there."
Murray, meanwhile, thrived in the atmosphere. He served with purpose, sent down 10 aces in the match, and defended well to shut down any openings for a comeback that his opponent might be looking for.
With the event played in a round-robin group format, Soderling will now be pressed to win his two remaining matches -- against Roger Federer and David Ferrer -- to give himself a shot at the semi-finals.
