The tournament kicked off on Monday and will run until 19 February.

British champion Andy Murray triumphed Japan’s Taro Daniel in a spectacular 6-2, 6-2 win at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Tuesday.

The win comes after his January defeat to Daniel at the second round of the Australian Open. The 34-year old former world number one champion’s signature backhand helped him secure his latest victory.

Murray is also a four-time finalist in Doha. “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,” said Murray.

On the same day, French champion and seventh seed Alexander Bublik tackled Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik in a 6-2,6-4 score.

Murray is now set to play against face second seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round on Wednesday. Commenting on his previous Doha titles, Murray said,“Obviously the results from 12 years ago aren’t going to affect the results this week. 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.”

Global tennis athletes are currently in Doha at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex for the major sporting event. The Qatar ExxonMobil Open kicked off on Monday and will run until 19 February.

The grand prize is $1,071,030.

The Qatar ExxonMobil Open is one of the two ATP Tour events in the Middle East, attended by thousands of international tennis fans.

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