Murray breaking new ground

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:31

The British number one secured a hard-fought 6-3 2-6 7-5 6-4 victory over the Italian baseliner on Wednesday to set up a round three tussle with Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, which is likely to be held on Friday.

“The most important thing is I found a way to win,” he said.

Tipsarevic, ranked 65th in the world and the conqueror of 28th seed Feliciano Lopez in the second round, has also never been beyond this stage before.

Murray will need to improve on his display against Starace if he is to make the second week here, which he admitted was his initial aim prior to the tournament.

The Scot won just two of 13 games after going 1-0 up in the second set, and saved two set points in the third as he clawed his way back from 5-1 down to win six games on the trot.

Murray added: “I normally find ways to win on other surfaces when I’m not playing my best. I hope I can start to do that more on clay.

“I managed to turn it around by playing a little bit more aggressively. I just went for my shots.”

Murray has won two of his four previous matches against Tipsarevic. The pair have never met on clay, although Tipsarevic beat the Briton at Queen’s Club in 2006.

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