Murray hobbles in his first singles match of 2012

Brisbane: Andy Murray shook of some rustiness and overcame some big returns from Mikhail Kukushkin to win his first singles match since late November and advance to the second round of the Brisbane International.

Top-seeded Murray lost the first four games and saved a set point in the first set before he rallied to beat Kazakhstan`s Kukushkin 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 on Tuesday night. Murray hadn`t played a singles match since he withdrew from the season-ending World Tour Finals at London with an injured groin. He announced on the weekend that he`d hired eight-time Grand Slam winner Ivan Lendl to work with him as coach in a bid to break his drought at the majors. Lendl is expected to join Murray ahead of the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 16 in Melbourne. Bureau Report