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Andy Murray made a winning start to his Australian campaign with victory over Benoit Paire at the Hopman Cup.

On a day when the temperature in Perth peaked at 44C, Murray won 6-2 7-5 to give Britain an early lead over France at the mixed team event.

Heather Watson then lost 6-2 6-2 to Alize Cornet, leaving the tie to be decided by the mixed doubles.

Britain will play Poland tomorrow and Australia on Friday, with the group winners reaching Saturday’s final.

The format guarantees all the players at least three singles matches as they prepare for the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 19 January.

“It was a bit of an eye-opener when we arrived at the practice court this morning and it was 44 degrees outside,” said Murray, who arrived in Perth on Sunday after winning an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi.

“I’m from a small town in Scotland and the weather is not quite like that there. The conditions here are fantastic to get ready for Melbourne.”

Murray, 27, had felt soreness in his left shoulder during the Abu Dhabi event and admitted he was still dealing with the issue.

“I had the problem in Abu Dhabi a couple of days ago and haven’t had much time to serve after that,” he said.

“We flew straight from there and arrived yesterday.

“It doesn’t really make sense for a right-handed player to have a problem with their left arm. So I am not sure exactly what it was and I had a scan in Abu Dhabi and that was all clear.

“But it’s still a little bit sore today.” — BBC Sport