Andy Murray has reached the fourth round of the Qatar Open courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Taro Daniel.

The Brit went into the match looking to banish the demons of his Australian Open exit to the same player last month, and he needed just 80 minutes to do so in a 6-2 6-2 triumph.

Murray looked in control from the outset and lost just two points on his own serve throughout the opening set.

In contrast, Daniel faced four break points in the opening set and lost two of those as Murray reeled off four games in a row to see out the set.

There were more promising signs at the start of the second set as Daniel broke in the very first game, but Murray then won another four games on the bounce to regain complete control.

The 34-year-old - a two-time winner in Qatar who was granted a wildcard to take part in this year's tournament - then saw out the set by taking his first available match point.

Murray will now face number two seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round.