Andy Murray got his clay court season off to an encouraging start with an efficient win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. Murray calmly sealed the match 7-6(7-5), 6-4 in a little over an hour and a half.
The British number one played a smart game and despite one or two fleeting moments of genius, the first set went with serve, but Andy managed to edge out a close tie-break 7-5.
However, Murray captured the momentum at the beginning of the second set, breaking in the opening game. His superb passing was once more displayed as he took a second break at 4-2. Lopez seemed to pick up his spirits briefly as a lapse in concentration from the Scot saw him claw back one of the breaks as he served for the match at 5-2. However, Murray made no mistake as he closed the match out 6-4.
In this very composed performance, it seems Andy has taken the advive of former world number two and exercised a bit more patience. The statistics confirmed this as he managed to land 70% of his first serves in.
His next round opponent will be Italian Fillipo Volandri who enjoyed a straightforward 6-2 6-3 win over Nicolas Mahut of France.
Match statistics (1 image)
