Andy Murray Off to a Flying Start in First Round of ATP Tennis At O2 Arena Winning Against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro

Andy Murray got off to a flying start in his bid to win the ATP World Tour Finals at The O2.

The British number one beat US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the first of his round robin matches yesterday. Murray made a superb start, opening up a 5-0 lead in the first set against a lacklustre Del Potro.

The Argentine rallied to pull back three games but Murray sealed the set in front of 17,000 fans, including West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola, at the arena.

Del Potro took the second set, twice breaking Murray's serve, to set the partisan fans hearts fluttering but the Scot upped his game in the third set to claim the win.

Murray was delighted to get off to a winning start.

He said: "It was a really good start. Me and Juan haven't played that much since the US Open and I kind of expected a little bit of a scrappy match.

"It was tough. When I was 5-0 up and he got back to 5-3, he had game points in every single game in the first set. He was playing a little bit better.

"I'm happy I managed to come back in the third, because he was playing well."

He also enjoyed the atmosphere at The O2

He said: "It was great. It's different. You can't see the crowd when you're on the court, it's so dark, but you can obviously hear them.

"It was a great atmosphere. It's not as much interaction with the crowd but the atmostphere was excellent."

The win means Murray faces Roger Federer tomorrow in a match that will probably determine who wins their group.

Federer found it hard going in his match against Fernando Verdasco, dropping his serve in the very first game and going on to lose the first set 4-6.

The world number one continued to struggle in the second as he seemed to have trouble adjusting to the pace of the court and the Spaniard had his chances to pull off a shock win.

But Federer held his nerve, and his serve, to claim the set 7-5 to set up a winner-takes-all last set.

By now the Swiss seemed to be firing on all cylinders and made short work of his opponent as he raced through the set to win it 6-1.

Federer seemed to enjoy his first experience at The O2, although he admitted the court was a bit difficult.

He said: "I thought the playing surface was okay. There were some bad bounces but that always happens on these wooden floors we play on.

"But it felt like a proper court, fair for all playing styles."

The second group gets underway, with defending champion Novak Djokovic and Australian Open winner Rafa Nadal both in action.