Murray wary of Cilic

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:05

Murray progressed through to the third round, after his second-round opponent Simone Bolelli was forced to retire injured while Cilic upset Spanish 13th seed Fernando Verdasco 6-2 6-3

And Murray knows the 20-year-old – who at 6ft 6in is three inches taller than the Scot – could make it very tricky for him saying: “He plays well on these courts; he’s a tough player. Cilic’s got a big game, serves well, moves pretty well for his height; he’s got big groundstrokes and comes into the net a bit.”

He added: “He’s a bit unpredictable, so I’m going to have to be really focused to win that one.”

Murray has faced Cilic just once before, winning an epic encounter 3-6 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-3 during last year’s Davis Cup match between Great Britain and Croatia.

Murray has seen enough of Cilic this year to know that he can cause problems for the big boys, though, citing the Croatian’s recent matches against Novak Djokovic at the US Open and Andy Roddick in Canada as prime examples.

“He’s played well in big matches this year. I think he beat (Fernando) Gonzalez in the Aussie Open, had a tough match with Djokovic in the US Open. He has some chances there and has beaten Roddick,” Murray added.

“He’s beaten some really good players over the last few months. It will be a very tough match for me. I have to play very well to win.”

Cilic, ranked 24 in the world, is likely to be helped by the high-altitude conditions at the Madrid Masters.

“Definitely on these courts, it’s quick here. The ball flies a bit; it’s tough to keep the returns down in these conditions,” said Murray.

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