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Andy Murray assumed control of proceedings early in the final against Alexandr Dolgopolov to race away with the title at the Brisbane International and put himself firmly in the mix of contenders for the Australian Open starting next week. It took all of 26 minutes for the Scot to wrap up the first set enroute to a clinical 6-1, 6-3 victory in only 66 minutes. Dolgopolov was clearly limited by his groin strain, but the manner in which Murray went about his business unaffected must have surely pleased his new coach Ivan Lendl who was known for his consistent ways and the focus he took with him to the court.

Even as Dolgopolov struggled to find his feet on the court, Murray strung together a sequence of nine games that helped the world No.4 blitz ahead to 4-0 in the second set. With the match all but over, the helpless Ukrainian indulged the crowd in a mock celebration by raising his arms in triumph when he finally won the next game.

In a show of dogged determination, Dolgopolov managed to win the next two games after that including a break of serve, to claw his way back to 3-4. But that was only enough to salvage some pride. In the kind of form his opponent was in, it was too late for the little resistance to make any significant difference to the result of the match.

"I'd like to say sorry to the crowd for the poor tennis," apologised Dolgopolov in the presentations. "I wasn't really fit and feeling good but I made it to the final and I'm really happy. Thanks for all the support." Murray proved gracious in victory as he acknowledged the effort from world No.15, “I think he put in a great effort, especially towards the end of the second set. It was a good job.”

With all the top men under some kind of physical strain, Murray’s 22^nd career title should set him up among the top bets for the title in Melbourne. Murray has been the finalist there in the last two years, losing to Roger Federer in 2010 and Novak Djokovic last year.

In this past week Federer withdrew due to a sore back from his semi-final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the winner in Qatar and Rafael Nadal was handed a consummate thumping at the hands of the eventual runner-up Gael Monfils.

Meanwhile, defending Australian Open champion Djokovic reached Melbourne on Thursday to make an early start to his preparations. The world No. 1 thumped both Federer and David Ferrer in an exhibition event at Abu Dhabi last week. Nole planted an affectionate kiss on the plexi-cushion turf before kicking off his practice.

Murray earned $74,370 for his time in Brisbane besides a handy 250 ranking points. Dolgopolov had to make do with a cheque for $39,165 and 150 points.

Daniel Nestor of Canada and Max Mirnyi of Belarus also won their first tournament of 2012 at the Brisbane International today. Seeded first in the draw, Nestor and Mirnyi defeated Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner 6-1, 6-2 in the Men's Doubles final to win their fifth title together. The win is Nestor’s 76th career title and his first triumph in Brisbane.

Score:

(1) Andy Murray d. (3) Alexandr Dolgopolov 61 63

File Photograph Copyright: Madrid Masters