Murray eases through

The 19-year-old Scot, who has stumbled out at the first hurdle in ten tournaments this year, made a confident start on his debut appearance in the $2.50 million hardcourt event.

He broke serve in the fourth and eighth games, taking the first set with a delicate lob. He was pushed harder in the second but stepped up a gear at 4-4 and won the match with a classy cross court shot.

Murray, who reached the semi-finals of the Toronto Masters in August, will now meet last year's losing finalist Ivan Ljubicic in the second round.

The Croat, seeded three in Madrid, won his third title of the season with a straight sets victory over Chile's Fernando Gonzalez at the Vienna Open at the weekend.

"The best part of his (Ljubicic's) game is obviously his serve. He won in Vienna having not lost a serve," Murray said after the match.

"My return is the best part of my game. It should be an interesting match up. If I play well I've got a chance but he's playing really good tennis."

Mardy Fish of the US had to battle from a set down to see off Belgium's Xavier Malisse 5-7 6-3 7-5 and earn himself a second round match against champion Rafael Nadal.

The 20-year-old Spaniard has struggled to find his rhythm on hard courts in recent weeks, losing in straight sets to Sweden's Joachim Johansson in the second round in Stockholm earlier this month.

Chile's Nicolas Massu, who lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 final, came from a set down to draw level at a set apiece with former French Open winner Gaston Gaudio but won through after the Argentine retired with stomach problems.

"I didn't know there was anything wrong with him until he came up to me and said 'I don't feel good, I'm off'," said Massu.

He now faces a daunting second round clash against top seed and world number one Roger Federer, who is bidding to win his 10th title of the season in Madrid.

"Playing against the best player in the world and on a court which has great memories for me is a great motivation," said the Chilean. "I think I've got a chance."

There was disappointment for another former French Open champion Carlos Moya who was overwhelmed by Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3 6-2 in his first round match.

Asian number one Paradorn Srichaphan swept past Spanish qualifier Gorka Fraile 6-2 6-2 in 55 minutes and will now face Gonzalez, while Agustin Calleri will meet 11th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych after a 7-6 6-3 win over Frenchman Florent Serra.