Murray through to third round

Melbourne - British fourth seed Andy Murray downed Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in straight sets to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

Twice a finalist in Melbourne, Murray won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in less than two hours and will play another Frenchman, Michael Llodra, in the last 32.

Murray began brilliantly, racing through the opening set in just 23 minutes against the 101st-ranked Roger-Vasselin.

But he encountered more resistance in a 53-minute second set before taking the match thanks to a service break in the seventh game of the final set.

The Scot, now coached by eight-time grand slam champion Ivan Lendl, broke Roger-Vasselin's serve four times and faced only one break point on his service in the whole match.

He remains unbeaten this season in seven matches after winning the Brisbane International.

Murray is bidding to become Britain's first male grand slam winner since Fred Perry in 1936.

Murray lost to Novak Djokovic in last year's Melbourne final, 12 months after losing to Roger Federer in the 2010 decider.