Andy Murray admitted he had been under pressure before he eased to victory as he easily defended his St Petersburg Open title with victory over Andrey Golubev.

The world number four eased to a 6-1 6-1 victory over Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev in less than 57 minutes to claim his fifth title of the season.

Golubev, ranked a lowly 150, had beaten Olivier Rochus in the first round before causing a huge upset with the defeat of former world number one Marat Safin.

However, he found the Scot a different proposition with the defending champion winning without breaking sweat.

Murray, though, admitted there had been a lot of expectation coming into the final with the Scot expected to romp home.

"I had a lot of pressure coming into this match," he told www.atptennis.com.

"I was the favourite and he didn't have anything to lose.

"The match was close in the beginning of both sets but once I was able to take the lead I felt more comfortable."

The 21-year-old admitted his opponent may have experienced nerves but knew he was in complete control.

He told Sky Sports News: "It was his first final so he was probably a little bit nervous.

"But he could take a lot of confidence, he had played really well all week.

"I played very consistently, I served pretty well, I didn't give him too many chances and obviously won pretty comfortably."

Just a week after emerging victorious from the Madrid Masters, Murray had few problems in the first set of the final.

Golubev held serve in the first game of the second set - but that was as good as it got as the Briton reeled off four games in a row.

Murray had insisted he faced a tough test on Saturday - but it did not turn out that way as he eased to match point in the seventh game.

Although the Kazakh saved it and had the chance to reduce the arrears to 2-5 - he doubled faulted - and Murray took the next match point on offer to wrap up the title.

Victory saw Murray become the first Briton to win back-to-back tour titles since Mark Cox in 1975.

Golubev, who is based in Bra, Italy, acknowledged he had come up short.

"I was playing well all week but today I was just off. I think I ran out of fuel," he said.

"I felt very tired. This match was good for me to compare my game to the top players in the world.

"Murray didn't make any mistakes and was more stable during the entire match, especially on his serve. I'm still more happy than disappointed.

"Obviously I feel a bit frustrated not to play the way I wanted. But overall I'm very happy with the week."

It has been a stunning season so far for the 21-year-old who, as well as claiming his five titles, reached the final of the US Open only to lose to Roger Federer.

Next up for Murray is the Paris Masters, where he has a bye into the second round.

His first match will pit him against either Marcos Baghdatis or Sam Querrey, with Fernando Verdasco a likely opponent in round three.

After that, Murray would probably have to beat the likes of David Nalbandian, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer if he is to claim another title.