No pain for Murray as he enjoys Paris match

The 24-year-old Scot’s winning streak – which takes in titles in Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai – was never in doubt at the Palais Omnisports.

He broke Chardy’s serve in the first game of the match and little resistance was offered in the first set, which Murray took 6-2.

Murray had won all three of his previous encounters with Chardy, who started the second set in much more aggressive fashion.

The set went with serve until the fifth game, when a double fault from Chardy handed Murray the vital break.

Murray, seeded second in the absence of Rafael Nadal, then went on to take the second set 6-4 and move into the third round of the competition.

Murray was forced to pull out of last week’s Basle tournament with a minor gluteal sprain but he reported a clean bill of healt.

“I felt OK, I felt maybe my legs were not as strong and I did not move as well as I can do,” he said.

“But I played pretty well for the most part. I played a relatively solid match.”

Roger Federer also eased into the next round, winning 6-2 6-3 against Adrian Mannarino, while there were wins for for David Ferrer, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Janko Tipsarevic and John Isner.