Briton Andy Murray and Juan-Carlos Ferrero of Spain got off to winning starts at the ATP Marseille Open on Tuesday advancing to the second round in straight sets.
Fourth seed Murray beat Dutch qualifier Jesse Huta Galung 6-4, 6-4, in 72 minutes and was later joined by former world number one Ferrero, seeded fifth, who eliminated South Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee 6-4, 6-1 in 88 minutes. The 20-year-old Scot's last outing was a hugely-disappointing four sets loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the first round of the Australian Open on January 14.
That defeat was put into some perspective by Tsonga's subsequent charge into his first Grand Slam final in Melbourne where he lost to Novak Djokovic. Murray opted not to play in Britain's Davis Cup tie away to Argentina last week citing an injury, but he was widely criticised even by brother Jamie.
Murray holds a 1-2 record against Wawrinka, the player he beat to capture his fourth ATP title in Doha last month. World number 15 Ferrero, meanwhile, achieved his fourth win against 46th-ranked Lee in five meetings and will play Nicolas Mahut in the second round after the Frenchman saw off Russian qualifier Michail Elgin 6-3, 6-3.