Andy Murray is expecting another difficult contest against Gael Monfils in the third round of the ATP Rogers Cup later today after beginning his title defence with a straight-sets victory over Xavier Malisse last night.

The Scot, who received a bye in the first round, saw off his Belgian opponent 7-5 6-2 in the second round of the Masters 1000 event in Toronto.

Murray has won two of his three previous meetings with unpredictable Frenchman Monfils, including the only match on hard courts, and he is confident he has the right tactics to counter his former junior rival.

"It will be a fun match," the fourth seed told Sky Sports ahead of his Centre Court clash with the 15th seed.

"He's probably the best athlete that's ever played the game. He's so fast, he can jump incredibly high and reaches most balls so it's going to be difficult.

"I've played well against him in the past. You have to change the pace a lot because when he's just moving side to side he doesn't miss a whole lot."

Murray certainly did not have things all his own way last night.

The 23-year-old had to fight back from a break down in the first set as Malisse found his range with his forehand but the Belgian could not keep up his level and Murray won 10 of the last 12 games.

Murray, who needs a good run at the tournament to avoid losing his world number four spot, admitted he found it tough to cope with both the conditions and his opponent.

"It was difficult," he said. "The first match in any tournament is tough. The conditions were very warm, very different to LA where I played last.

"The ball was bouncing very, very high and Malisse was hitting some huge forehands and taking the ball very early.

"But I started playing a bit higher over the net in the second set and towards the end of the first set and that definitely helped.

"He made a few more errors and he was finding it a little bit harder to go for his shots. But it was a tough match."

Murray began well and had a break point in Malisse's first service game. But he could not take it and he was made to regret that when a wayward backhand helped his opponent, who has climbed back to 52nd in the rankings after spending most of the past two seasons outside the top 100, move 3-1 ahead.

However, a poor game from Malisse at 5-6 ended with a double fault that gifted Murray, playing his second tournament following his split with coach Miles Maclagan, the first set.

The Belgian managed to hold his own at the start of the second set but it seemed just a matter of time before Murray broke through again, and so it proved.