Sir Andy Murray has beaten fellow Brit Dan Evans in straight sets in the opening round of the Mubadala Tennis World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The Scot played some of his best tennis since returning from injury en route to a 6-3 6-2 triumph, setting up a showdown with old rival Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
Thirty-four-year-old Murray wasted no time in gaining the upper-hand over his compatriot in Abu Dhabi, breaking in two of Evans's opening three service games to race into a 5-1 lead.
Evans then survived a set point to break back, but it was only a temporary reprieve for the world number 25 and British number two as Murray took advantage of his third set point to take the opener 6-3.
Things got even better for the former world number one in the second set too, breaking Evans in his opening three service games to build another 5-1 lead - this time the only dropped game being on his own serve.
Murray then only needed one match point to seal a dominant victory in what was his first outing since splitting from long-time coach Jamie Delgado last week.
The Scot will now face Nadal, himself returning from a lengthy injury absence, in the semi-final, with the winner of that match going on to play either Denis Shapovalov or Andrey Rublev in the final.
Elsewhere at the Mubadala Tennis World Championship, Ons Jabeur secured a three-set victory over Belinda Bencic to claim the women's title, having replaced Emma Raducanu in the event at short notice.
Barney Corkhill
