Andy Murray celebrated his ascension to number one in the ATP world rankings and his knighting in the New Year's Honours list by beating Jeremy Chardy in the first round of the Qatar Open.
The 29-year-old Scot, who has been formally recognised by the Queen for his services to tennis and charity, brushed Chardy aside in a 20-minute first set before triumphing 6-0 7-6 (7/2) in Doha.
France's former Australian Open quarter-finalist had rallied to ensure a contest in the decider, but his poor performance on the return of serve led to his early elimination from the hard-court tournament.
At the end of a defining year in which he won his second Wimbledon title and another Olympic gold medal, Murray beat his fierce Serbian rival Novak Djokovic in London to conquer the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time and secure the year-end number one ranking.
Last week he recovered from an exhibition defeat to David Goffin in Abu Dhabi to beat world number three Milos Raonic in straight sets and he stepped up a gear - or two - on Tuesday night in Qatar.
Chardy, whose sole victory in nine prior meetings with Murray came at the 2012 Cincinnati Masters, was helpless to resist the Scot's serve in a lightning opening set.
The Pau-born world number 69 upset the match's momentum by breaking Murray in the first game of the second set and an improvement on his serve saw him reach 3-3 for only three double faults.
Chardy looked keen to force a third set and composed several thrilling rallies on his way to the tie-break, but ultimately Murray's tireless counter-punching and wide range of shots got him over the line.
Now Gerald Melzer lies in wait for the British number one. The Austrian left-hander, who defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-7 (2/7) 6-3 6-2 to reach the second round, has never played Murray before.
Source: PA
