A performance replete with composure and conviction secured Andy Murray, the No15 seed, his place in the second round of the Hamburg Masters Series event yesterday, after which he took a subtle swipe at those who have picked holes in his recent form and bearing.

“I think I play a game that's fun to watch,” the British No1 said, after his 6-4, 6-1 victory over Dmitry Tursunov, the hard-hitting but often wayward Russian, “and I don't think I've had that bad a start to the year. I'm back up to No14 in the world and I still believe I have plenty of room for improvement.”

The most obvious positive yesterday was how competently he handled Tursunov, who often gets under the skin of his opponents because he can be playing downright awful tennis and suddenly unleash a succession of winners. Murray stuck to his task well, deadening the impact of the Russian's more vivid moments and slowly strangling the match. In the next round, the Scot will face Gilles Simon, of France, who defeated him in the only clay-court match he completed in 2007, in Rome.

Less than a fortnight before the start of the French Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has come to life. The Australian Open runner-up, in just his second event after five weeks out because of a knee injury, overcame a hesitant start to defeat Nicolas Mahut, his fellow Frenchman, 0-6, 7-6, 6-2 and, by the end of the match, Tsonga was looking for all the world as if he is striking form with decidedly opportunistic timing.

Maria Sharapova competes in the Italian Open this week having reached a compromise with the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour over whether she should have had to take part in a prolonged photo shoot on the eve of a leading championship.

The Australian Open champion used her personal website to ask her fans for their views, but, after arriving in Rome over the weekend, she agreed to a limited appearance at an event being used to market the tour, as part of a longstanding agreement with the leading players. “I did 90 minutes,” she said. “The timing compromise was still pretty difficult since it's before a very big event, but it definitely makes that a lot easier than going into a four or five-hour shoot without hair and make-up, which adds another hour.”