Murray makes winning return against Gasquet
Andy Murray looked sharp in his first singles match since Wimbledon, rolling to a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet at the Western and Southern Open.
Murray defeated the veteran Frenchman 6-4 6-4 on a rainy opening day in Cincinnati, capitalising on a strong service game to advance.
Murray had 14 aces to just two double faults and won 81 per cent of points on his first serve while saving four of the five break points he faced.
A two-time champion at the ATP 1000 event, he will face the winner of Wednesday's (AEST) match between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and No.9 seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Two players who shared a birthday Monday also prevailed.
On the day he turned 20, No.11 seed Jannik Sinner defeated Federico Delbonis 6-2 7-5, while No.10 seed Diego Schwartzman had to work a bit harder on his 28th birthday to down Daneil Evans 6-2 4-6 6-3.
Elsewhere, No.12 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (7-0) 6-3, while No.14 seed Alex de Minaur rallied to down Filip Krajinovic 0-6 6-4 6-4.
No.15 seed David Goffin fell 6-3 6-3 to Guido Pella in the only seeded upset of the day.
Other winners Monday included Karen Khachanov, Fabio Fognini, Lloyd Harris, Dominik Koepfer, Benoit Paire, Albert Ramos Vinolas and Mackenzie McDonald.
Among those set to play their opening matches Wednesday (AEST) are No.3 seed Alexander Zverev, who will face Harris, and No.6 seed Denis Shapovalov, who plays Paire.
