Melbourne : British tennis player Andy Murray defeated Illya Marchenko of Ukraine in the first game of the Australian Open here on Monday.

The world number 1 outplayed his Ukrainian opponent 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-2 at the Rod Laver Arena here.

Five-time finalist in this tournament, Murray competes for the 12th time in the prestigious tournament.

A recent finalist in Doha against Serbian Novak Djokovic, Murray will now face Russian Andrey Rublev, who ascended from the preliminary phase.-Agency