Wildcard Andy Murray sees off Gasquet in Cincinnati opener

Murray defeated France's Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-4 following a slight rain delay.

Wildcard Andy Murray sees off Gasquet in Cincinnati opener Getty Images

Andy Murray and Heather Watson led the British charge at the Western and Southern Open with both securing first-round victories.

Wildcard Murray, who won the tournament in Cincinnati in 2008 and 2011, defeated France’s Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-4 following a slight rain delay.

The 67th-ranked Watson won 72 per cent of her first serve points and saved four break points en route to a 6-2 3-6 6-1 result over Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus in just over two hours.

Britain’s Dan Evans, who missed the Olympics after testing positive for Covid-19, had a slow start but fought back to claim the second set in his match against Diego Schwartzman.

But the 10th seed and two-time US Open quarter-finalist proved too strong, eventually winning 6-2 4-6 6-3 over Evans in a rain-interrupted encounter.