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BRISBANE — Andy Murray warmed up for the Australian Open with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over third-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov on Sunday in the Brisbane International final.
For the second consecutive match, Murray had Ivan Lendl watching from courtside. Aiming to break a drought for British men at the majors dating to 1936, Murray hired the eight-time Grand Slam tournament winner as coach earlier this month and the pair met up Saturday in Brisbane.
The 24-year-old Murray has lost the past two Australian Open finals and is 0-3 in major finals.
The Scot's confidence high after capturing his 22nd ATP title, Murray will spend the next week in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 16.
Murray, ranked No. 4, raced through the first set in 26 minutes. He didn't lose a point on his own serve until the last game, when the Ukrainian twice had breakpoint chances but was unable to convert.
Murray won nine straight games from 1-1 in the first to take the match away from Dolgopolov, who rallied briefly by winning three in a row — including his only break against the Scot to get the second set back to 4-3.
The 23-year-old Dolgopolov moved up to a year-end No. 15 in 2011 and is aiming for his second ATP title, but was never in contention in the final. He has lost all three of his matches against Murray, including the Australian Open quarterfinals last year.
