Italian Open: Murray, Konta advance, Watson out

Andy Murray reached the Italian Open third round with a 6-3 6-3 win over Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin.
British number one Murray, 28, who received a bye in the first round, will next face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut or Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in Rome.
Johanna Konta also made it through with a 6-0 6-4 win over Roberta Vinci. The 24-year-old British number one will next play Lucie Safarova or Misaki Doi.
Fellow Briton Heather Watson was beaten 6-4 6-2 by Czech Barbora Strycova.
Konta restricted Italian Vinci to seven points as she won the first set in 23 minutes, before taking the break needed in the second to knock out the seventh seed.
Assistant coach Jamie Delgado and Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith were in Murray’s box for the world number three’s first match since splitting from coach Amelie Mauresmo this week.
Murray is not anticipating appointing a replacement before the French Open, which begins on May 22.