Andy Murray beats Christopher O’Connell in Stuttgart opener after Emma Raducanu loses in Nottingham

Andy Murray made a winning start on his Stuttgart Open debut as he beat Christopher O’Connell in straight sets in the first round.

The former world No. 1 battled back from 3-0 down in the first set to win 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 36 minutes.

Murray is playing in Stuttgart for the first time after opting to skip the French Open and start his grass season early in Surbiton.

He will be hoping his extra time on the surface will prove beneficial when Wimbledon comes around on June 27.

Murray did not make the best start against world No. 116 O’Connell as he was broken in the second game of the match and fell 3-0 behind.

But the three-time Grand Slam champion turned things around quickly, winning five games in a row to swing the set his way.

He closed out the set with his first set point.

Murray showed flashes of his best with a trademark lob as he broke to lead 2-1 in the second set.

That was enough to set him on the way to victory and he wrapped up the match when O’Connell fired a smash wide to get broken again.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed in Stuttgart while Nick Kyrgios plays later on Tuesday after skipping most of the clay season.