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Murray And Clijsters Advance In Brisbane
By: James Waterson
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Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
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(January 3, 2012) World No. 4 Andy Murray rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the Brisbane International Tuesday.
Murray, who was playing in his first match since he withdrew from the ATP World Tour Finals in November because of a leg injury, showed signs of rust early on as he was broken in the first game of the contest.
Although the Scot broke Kukushkin's serve twice in the first set, he was never able to catch up as he struggled to hold serve for the duration of the opening set.
His main problem was his second serve. Although he hit 71 percent of his first serves in, he won only three points on his second serve.
Murray's effectiveness on serve improved in the second set despite his first-serve percentage dropping to 47 percent. He won more than half of his second-serve points, which helped him save two break points while he earned the critical break midway through the set.
The Scot's game gelled together in the third set, as he lost only two points on his serve. That enabled him to put a significant amount of pressure on Kukushkin's serve, which paid off as he broke his opponent twice.
"He was hitting winners from all over the place. I was a little bit slow, I didn't expect him to come out swinging like that in the first match of the year," Murray said. "You have to be mentally ready from the start, and I wasn't quite there. I played better at the end."
Murray will face 54th-ranked Gilles Muller of Luxembourg next. He won their only previous encounter, in Davis Cup in 2011, in straight sets.
In the other night match, Kim Clijsters defeated Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in a match that had roller coaster-like swings in momentum.
Clijsters thoroughly dominated the first set as she lost only six points on her serve and she won 62 percent of her receiving points.
Yet Ivanovic dominated the second set in similar fashion and she raced to a 3-0 lead in the third. But she couldn't maintain her level of play, as Clijsters stormed back to win the next six games.
The win could set up a tantalizing match-up against US Open champion Samantha Stosur. Although Clijsters has a 5-0 record against the Australian, they haven't played since the 2010 WTA year-end championships.
Before that happens, Stosur needs to defeat Iveta Benesova, who she will take on Wednesday afternoon. Murray, Bernard Tomic, Gilles Simon and Serena Williams will be in action tomorrow.
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