Andy Murray progresses in Cincinnatti after hard-fought win
The British No.1 Andy Murray advanced to the third round of the Cincinnatti Masters with a 6-3, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 win over Frenchman Jérémy Chardy.
Murray, fresh from his triumph over Roger Federer last Sunday at Toronto in the Rogers Cup, took the opening set, but suffered a lapse of concentration in the second as there were six consecutive breaks of serve. Chardy claimed the set in the tie-break, but world No.4 Murray found his rhythm again in the deciding set, breaking Chardy’s serve twice and only dropping three points on his serve.
“He's a player that doesn't give a whole lot of rhythm, and when he started making some balls, I was a little bit uncomfortable,” said Murray.
“It was very quick conditions out there, very different to Toronto. I didn't really adjust that well to it when I had to hit a lot of balls. But third set I had to step up a little bit, and I managed to,” he added.
Murray will now play Ernest Gulbis in the next round. “He's a good player. He's got a really big game, a bit like Chardy but maybe with better feel. I'll have to play well in that match to beat him,” said Murray.
World No.1 Rafael Nadal also progressed to the next round after beating American Taylor Dent 6-2, 7-5. The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion will now play Julien Benneteau. “The match was close, and I was waiting to have my chance, but you are out of the rhythm from the baseline because he's not giving you the long point. It's difficult to have feel for the ball,” said Nadal.
There were also wins for Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick and Robin Soderling, while Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, seeded eight for the tournament, suffered an upset defeat to world No.36 Mardy Fish.
Meanwhile, former world No.1 of the women’s game Justine Henin has announced she will not play for the rest of 2010 as a result of an elbow injury she picked up at Wimbledon. The Belgian came out of retirement after 18 months and is targeting a return in the 2011 Hopman Cup in Perth in January.
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