Andy Murray brought the score to 1-1 against Austria with a comprehensive 6-4 6-1 6-3 victory over Alex Peya in just 1 hour and 47 minutes, and must now hope that Great Britain can clinch the crucial doubles tomorrow.

Murray rarely needed to move into top gear as he almost effortlessly outclassed his opponent ranked 160 places below him.

The world No.4 took the opening set on serve with an ace out wide having secured an early break, and with the momentum firmly moving in his direction, he broke at the start of the second set by rifling a brilliant backhand pass down the line to howls of appreciation from the British crowd on a sun-kissed No.1 court.

Two more breaks of serve gave the young Scot the second set at a canter and he cruised to a straight sets victory without using up too much nervous energy with a decisive break in the eighth game.

"I didn't give him too many chances", Murray said."He competed well but I felt pretty comfortable once I got the early break. I knew I was expected to win so it was good to get off to a quick start."

The British No.1 hopes to be in a position on sunday to clinch the tie for Great Britain, but knows that whoever competes in the doubles will have their work cut out against the experienced Austrian pair.

"The doubles is a 50/50 match", Murray stressed. "Jurgen and Julien have played well on the tour together and in Davis cup. They are a tough team, both lefties. They have played together more than any of our combinations so they are a bit more used to each others game. So we just have to try and focus on that one; it's an important match."

Although Peya lost comprehensively against Murray today, he may still go on to play a pivotal role should he face Bogdanovic on Sunday in the deciding rubber.

"There is going to be a lot of pressure in this game for sure", Peya predicted. "I played him already twice and I know what's going to happen. He's a good player but it's going to be an open match."

Andre Jones

Wimbledon