Andy Murray eased through the first round of the Hamburg Masters with an accomplished 6-4 6-1 defeat of Russia's Dmitry Tursunov.

The Scot will now face Frenchman Gilles Simon in the second round, with a potential meeting with world number two Rafael Nadal to look forward to in the third.

Murray's stay in Hamburg last year was cut short when he suffered a serious wrist injury, a problem that caused him to miss both the French Open and Wimbledon.

Twelve months on, the 15th seed enjoyed a stress-free return to northern Germany as he saw off Tursunov with a commanding performance.

"Last year was tough," Murray said. "It was an unfortunate injury but it was the last thing on my mind when I was out on court today.

"I was still feeling some pain in my wrist at the end of last year but I've had no problems with it so far this season."

Murray's progress never looked in doubt from the moment he broke his opponent in the third game. Tursunov showed flashes of brilliance, but was far from comfortable on the clay - a surface he says is "only fit for Mars".

Murray, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Wednesday, served out the first set with authority and broke early in the second. His groundstrokes were neat and powerful, and his sliced drop-shots frequently left Tursunov flat-footed at the back of the court.

At 3-1 down Tursunov spurned two straightforward chances to save a break point, but Murray stayed in the rally and took his chance to crash a forehand home and take a commanding 4-1 lead.

Murray then held serve with ease and entered the next game with a carefree abandon so often lacking in his play. He looked relaxed and comfortable, and deservedly broke to seal the match and secure his progress.

Earlier on Monday, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Australian Open finalist, completed a terrific comeback to beat fellow Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 0-6 7-6 6-2.

There was one minor upset when Spain's Fernando Verdasco beat Russian 10th seed Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-2.

Former world number one Marat Safin, who had to come through qualifying, looked in good touch as he beat Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-5 6-2.

Will Tidey and / Reuters