Andy Murray voices opinion on ATP decision to remove ranking points from Wimbledon

The double Wimbledon champion had played in the ATP Challenger Tour event back in 2004 but a lot has happened in the ensuing 18 years.

It was the 35-year-old's first match on grass since his All England Club exit to Denis Shapovalov last July and while last summer he was only able to play five matches on the surface, the Surbiton Trophy is set to be one of three tournaments he plays in ahead of this year's trip to SW19.

A two-hour delay to proceedings occurred due to rain but when the light shower eased off, the crowd were treated to some vintage Murray tennis with an array of winners, drop shots and trademark 'come on' shouts in 58 minutes of play.

He had elected to skip the French Open to begin his preparations for Wimbledon early and received a rousing reception from those inside the 604-seater Centre Court.

It did not take long for the Scot to make his mark with an ace first up and Murray was able to break Rodionov in the fourth game after a superb crosscourt winner.

In his first match in almost four weeks, the three-time grand slam winner showed no signs of rustiness and clinched a second break soon after to wrap up the first set in 28 minutes.

An important hold by Murray in the fifth game of the second set from deuce maintained his advantage and, with the heavens ready to open again, a crucial second break went his way before he served out for the match.

Murray expects there to be an "extremely strong field" at Wimbledon this summer but reiterated his belief the decision to take away rankings points was a not a great move.

"My belief is Wimbledon will go ahead and have an extremely strong player field," the 35-year-old said. "Removing the points, if it doesn't stop players from playing then I don't think it's a