Andy Murray overcame a tricky encounter this morning, as he defeated a resurgent Jarkko Nieminen 7-6(5) 6-3 in the second round of the Paris Masters.
Murray started the brighter of the two, creating numerous opportunities on the Finn's serve, but frustratingly he failed to take any of them. The resulting tie-break was full of changes in momentum with Nieminen 5-3 up at one point, but the Scot held his nerve and clinched the first set with a display of gritty and clinical tennis.
Nieminen was relentless as he pressured and broke early in the second set as his opponent floundered and lost concentration. However, Murray upped his game considerably at the right time and produced a variety of passing shots, clutch volleys and aggressive forehands to leave Nieminen trailing as he wrapped up five consecutive games to secure the match.
The British number one progresses to the third round where he will meet
Fabrice Santoro after his shock win over Novak Djokovic, 6-3 6-2.