Andy Murray progressed through to the third round of the Madrid Open with a morale-boosting straight sets victory over qualifier Juan Ignacio Chela.
An out-of-sorts Murray had only won one match in his previous three tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome, but he doubled that tally with a convincing 6-3 6-3 win on the red clay of La Caja Magica.
The world number four, who is seeded third in the Spanish capital and received a bye in the first found, Murray rarely looked in trouble against the veteran Argentinian and he will now play Romanian Victor Hanescu in the third round.
Murray could hardly have had a better start as a mixture of booming forehands, well-placed backhands and delicate drop shots saw him lose just one point in winning the opening three games – including two service breaks.
The Scot then lost his way slightly, winning just three points in the next two games as Chela hit back to 3-2.
However, Murray quickly stopped Chela’s attempted fightback by holding his next two service games to love and then breaking Chela for the third time in the 10th game to take the set.
Murray missed two set points in that game but made no mistake with the third, sealing the success with a back-spin forehand shot that was too good for Chela.
Chela enjoyed the perfect start to the second set as he immediately broke Murray’s serve.
Murray was quick to cancel that out though, breaking back immediately following a lengthy battle which ended when Chela fired a simple forehand into the net.
The next three games went to serve before Murray made the decisive break in the sixth game to go 4-2 ahead.
Having raced into a 0-40 lead, Murray sealed the break with a superb crosscourt forehand as he stretched away to his right.
That put the Scot 4-2 ahead and he then held his serve to establish a 5-2 lead.
The 22-year-old, who won the Madrid title in 2008 when it was played on hard court, missed three match points on the Chela serve, but he completed the victory in the following game with few problems.
Murray, who will next meet Victor Hanescu of Romania, told Sky Sports 1: „I thought it was good, best I’ve hit the ball in a long time.
Murray has endured a difficult time since reaching the Australian Open final and his serve has been part of his frustrations.
„It’s been inconsistent,” said Murray.
„I’ve been practising it a lot but if you start thinking about it all the time it doesn’t exactly help.
„Today I served well when I needed to. It took a few service games to get used to the conditions – it’s a lot faster here.
The Madrid Masters is the final tournament before the French Open at Roland Garros.
Murray is focused on his performances, rather than results.
He added: „It’s important, but for me, obviously I want to win as many matches as possible and go as deep into tournaments as I can.
„But right now I’m focusing a lot on how I’m playing.
„I played well today, it was a good match. If I play well in the next one then I’ll be happy.
„I want to get back to feeling good on the court, feeling comfortable, going for my shots and moving like I did today.
„If I do that I’ll start to go deep into tournaments again.
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MURRAY EASES THROUGH AGAINST CHELA
Andy Murray progressed through to the third round of the Madrid Open with a morale-boosting straight sets victory over qualifier Juan Ignacio Chela.
An out-of-sorts Murray had only won one match in his previous three tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome, but he doubled that tally with a convincing 6-3 6-3 win on the red clay of La Caja Magica.
The world number four, who is seeded third in the Spanish capital and received a bye in the first found, Murray rarely looked in trouble against the veteran Argentinian and he will now play Romanian Victor Hanescu in the third round.
Murray could hardly have had a better start as a mixture of booming forehands, well-placed backhands and delicate drop shots saw him lose just one point in winning the opening three games – including two service breaks.
The Scot then lost his way slightly, winning just three points in the next two games as Chela hit back to 3-2.
However, Murray quickly stopped Chela’s attempted fightback by holding his next two service games to love and then breaking Chela for the third time in the 10th game to take the set.
Murray missed two set points in that game but made no mistake with the third, sealing the success with a back-spin forehand shot that was too good for Chela.
Chela enjoyed the perfect start to the second set as he immediately broke Murray’s serve.
Murray was quick to cancel that out though, breaking back immediately following a lengthy battle which ended when Chela fired a simple forehand into the net.
The next three games went to serve before Murray made the decisive break in the sixth game to go 4-2 ahead.
Having raced into a 0-40 lead, Murray sealed the break with a superb crosscourt forehand as he stretched away to his right.
That put the Scot 4-2 ahead and he then held his serve to establish a 5-2 lead.
The 22-year-old, who won the Madrid title in 2008 when it was played on hard court, missed three match points on the Chela serve, but he completed the victory in the following game with few problems.
Murray, who will next meet Victor Hanescu of Romania, told Sky Sports 1: „I thought it was good, best I’ve hit the ball in a long time.
Murray has endured a difficult time since reaching the Australian Open final and his serve has been part of his frustrations.
„It’s been inconsistent,” said Murray.
„I’ve been practising it a lot but if you start thinking about it all the time it doesn’t exactly help.
„Today I served well when I needed to. It took a few service games to get used to the conditions – it’s a lot faster here.
The Madrid Masters is the final tournament before the French Open at Roland Garros.
Murray is focused on his performances, rather than results.
He added: „It’s important, but for me, obviously I want to win as many matches as possible and go as deep into tournaments as I can.
„But right now I’m focusing a lot on how I’m playing.
„I played well today, it was a good match. If I play well in the next one then I’ll be happy.
„I want to get back to feeling good on the court, feeling comfortable, going for my shots and moving like I did today.
„If I do that I’ll start to go deep into tournaments again.
