Dubai: Britain’s Andy Murray cruised into the last 16 of the Qatar Open with a straight-set victory over Taro Daniel.The three-time Grand Slam winner, 34, avenged last month’s Australian Open defeat by Daniel by beating Japan’s world number 110 on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, former world number one Murray broke back into the world’s top 100 for the first time since May 2018 having recovered from hip surgery.
The world number 87, who received a wildcard for the event in Doha, broke Daniel’s serve twice to clinch the first set.
And although Daniel broke Murray at the start of the second, the Briton took his opponent’s next two service games before clinching success by breaking the 29-year-old for a fifth time overall.
If Murray beats Spain’s Bautista Agut he could have a quarter-final clash with compatriot Dan Evans, who faces another Spaniard, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, in the last 16.
After losing to Daniel in the second round in Melbourne, Murray reached the second round of the Rotterdam Open last week, where he was beaten by world number nine Felix Auger-Aliassime.