Murray, Ferrer Win Openers; Tipsarevic Keeps London Hopes Alive

© AFP/Getty ImagesTipsarevic dismissed Alex Bogomolov Jr. for the second time this year on Wednesday.

World No. 3 Andy Murray notched his 16th win in a row on Wednesday, opening his BNP Paribas Masters campaign with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy.

The Scot won 76 percent of his service points and broke Chardy three times over six break point opportunities to improve to a 4-0 record against the French wild card. "I thought it was a decent start," assessed Murray. "I didn't lose my serve. I don't think he had any break points, so that was good. But I can definitely play better, and I'll need to."

Murray, who claimed an Asian title hat-trick by triumphing in Bangkok (d. Young), Tokyo (d. Nadal) and the Shanghai Rolex Masters (d. Ferrer), has not lost since falling to Rafael Nadal in the US Open semi-finals. "After taking a break, things feel a little bit different," Murray said. "You're not quite in the rhythm you were a few weeks ago. Hopefully I can build on today's win. Maybe if I get through a couple of rounds, I'll feel that momentum."

The 24 year old will clash with 13th-seeded Andy Roddick in the third round.

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No. 4 seed David Ferrer was also strong in his opener, defeating French qualifier Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round.

The Spaniard broke Mahut once in each set and saved both break points he faced to claim victory in one hour and 27 minutes.

Ferrer, coming off a semi-final appearance at the Valencia Open 500 last week (l. to Monaco), is looking to advance to the quarter-finals at the event for the first time since 2007. He'll play No. 14 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov next. Making his event debut, Dolgopolov topped Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6(7).

Serbian Janko Tipsarevic, seeded 11th, cruised past Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes to keep alive his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

The World No. 13 won 66 percent of his return points, breaking serve on six occasions to beat the American for the second time this season after taking their semi-final encounter in St. Petersburg.

Tipsarevic must reach the final to have a chance of qualifying for the year-end event at The O2. He’ll square off against fellow contender Tomas Berdych in an important third-round meeting. The Czech, ranked sixth in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Year-To-Date Rankings, will clinch a London berth should he defeat Tipsarevic.

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