Murray finds going tough but seals spot in quarters

Published on Friday 30 July 2010 21:48

Top seed Andy Murray overcame an ugly second set to beat Tim Smyczek 6-1 4-6 6-2 and book his place in today's quarter-finals of the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.

Having received a bye in the first round, Murray showed no signs of rustiness as he raced through the first set.

But his serve abandoned him in the second, before he composed himself in the third to seal the win and a last-eight tie against Colombia's Alejandro Falla, who beat fifth seed Ernests Gulbis earlier in the day.

Murray, who split from coach Miles Maclagan this week, revealed he had struggled physically in his first match since losing to Rafael Nadal in the Wimbledon semi-finals a month ago.

The top seed said on www.atpworldtour.com: "The first set was good and I started the second set with chances. I was struggling a little bit with my movement, when I got stiff and sore. But I managed to find a way to win.

"The top of my right hip and lower back was stiff. It isn't an injury, just on one of the changeovers my muscles started hurting. The last few changeovers I was standing up - something I have never done on tour before.

"There is a huge difference between the grass courts and hard."

Murray has never met Falla before on the main tour but he will be wary of the Colombian following his exploits at Wimbledon, where he served for the match against Roger Federer in the first round before eventually losing in five sets. Murray will be conscious he can't afford another slip, with his serve advantage down at 42 per cent in the set he surrendered, and improvement is vital.