Andy Murray overcame a slow start and a third set service break to beat Taro Daniel 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round of Indian Wells to notch his 700th career win.

With the victory, the Briton became the 18th player of the Open era to achieve the feat on the ATP Tour.

"This was a target that I set for myself on the back end of last year," Murray said in an on-court interview. 

"Let's go for 800 now."

It appeared Murray would have to wait to reach the milestone after Daniel came out sharp, attacking Murray's serve and cruising through the first set on a sunny day in the Southern California desert.

Murray, who is three years removed from major hip surgery, did not move well early on but sprang to life in the second, breaking Daniel at love when the Japanese player sent a forehand wide on set point to level the match at a set each.

Daniel won eight straight points to open the third and take a 2-0 lead with help from some sloppy play by the three-time Grand Slam champion.

But Murray would not give in, breaking back with a forehand winner for 3-3 and pumping his fist to the delight of the supportive crowd at Stadium One Court.

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Nerves appeared to get to Daniel in the final game, where he committed three straight unforced errors to give Murray three match points, and the 34-year-old converted his third opportunity to seal the win.

"I got off to a bit of a slow start," Murray said.

"But Taro played extremely well. I lost to him in Australia so I was expecting a tough match," Murray said of Daniel, who beat the Briton in straight sets in Melbourne in January.

Tournament wild card Murray will look to notch his 701st win when he faces Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Masters 1,000 tournament.

Murray has never won at Indian Wells. His best finish came in 2009, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final. He was a semi-finalist in 2007 and 2015, losing to Novak Djokovic both times.

The Briton now joins Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic in the exclusive 700 club.

Reuters/AP