“I played well and was able to get to a lot of points and finish a lot at the net”. “I had every intention to play this morning”.
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“On his win over De Schepper, Murray said: “‘It was good, I played well today.
Murray, a double Grand Slam victor, said the current plan is to compete in the Australian Open and then take February off to spend time with Kim and the baby.
Murray and Watson beat De Schepper and Garcia 6-2, 5-7, 10-6 to give Britain victory over France in their first round-robin tie of the week.
Duval lost her serve three times in the first set and twice in the second, while world number 19 Svitolina, having been broken twice herself in the opener, saved two break points to hold throughout the brisk second. “It’s quite a quick surface here so if you can get the first strike in the rallies it’s easy to stay on top of the point”. “That’s how I planned it after the Davis Cup because of the way the year finished for me and with everything coming up”.
In the dead mixed doubles rubber, the U.S. pair gained some consolation by winning 6-2, 6-3.
France hit back through Caroline Garcia, who defeated Watson 6-3 5-7 6-3 to level the Group B tie at 1-1.
Speaking at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth, where he is representing Great Britain, the dual Grand Slam victor said he would choose being at the birth of his child over playing in the Australian Open final.
Australian Sam Stosur had a much hard match and narrowly avoided disappointment on home turf by battling through a wrist injury to claim an opening victory.
Djokovic, making his second appearance in Qatar, was watched on by coach Boris Becker, the first victor of the Qatar Open back in 1993.
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Elina Svitolina was relatively untroubled by replacement Victoria Duval, prevailing 6-4 6-1 in 62 minutes.
