Sony Open: Murray defeats determined Dimitrov

The second seed was under the cosh for much of the opening set but turned things around to win 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in one hour and 54 minutes.

However, Murray will be looking for a much improved performance when he takes on 16th seed Andreas Seppi in the fourth round, having struggled for form against world No 32 Dimitrov.

Murray, who won the title here in 2009, had beaten the Bulgarian in both of their previous encounters but battled with his first serve from the off and found himself a break down in game four after some confident returning from his opponent.

The Scot broke back the very next game when Dimitrov missed an attempted lob but the Bulgarian opened up another lead straightaway, with a forehand volley at full stretch which left Murray stranded.

Dimitrov then held serve to go 5-2 ahead and saw two set points saved in the next game as Murray clung on by his fingertips.

However, luck was on the Briton’s side in game nine when Dimitrov, serving for the set, dished up three double faults to gift Murray a route back in.

The opening set was eventually settled by a tie break, where a couple of unforced errors from Dimitrov played right into the hands of the world number two.

That knocked some of the confidence out of the Bulgarian and he dropped game two of the second set, putting a weak forehand into the net.

Murray wasted two further break points in the sixth game, hitting the first long and the second into the net.

However, the Briton soon found himself serving for the contest, and although his first two match points went begging, it was third time lucky for Murray as Dimitrov put a backhand into the net.

In the women’s event, Serena Williams’ match was more than an hour old before she began to make some noise.

“Come on!” she shouted at her fist through gritted teeth, adding a soundtrack to her comeback. Her demeanour transformed, Williams rallied past Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round of the Sony Open, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The top-ranked Williams, seeking her sixth Key Biscayne title and her first since 2008, was down a service break trailing 4-1 in the second set before she swept the final five games of the set. She also won the last three games of the match and served it out at love with three aces.

Williams’ opponent in the quarter-finals will be No 5-seeded Li Na, who beat wild card Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Williams was impassive and flat on her feet in the early going against the No. 13-seeded Cibulkova, and the half-empty stands made for a sleepy atmosphere. “I was just struggling,” she said. “I was making so many errors and couldn’t pull myself together.”

During changeovers, disco, salsa and Coldplay blared from the public address system, and something finally got Williams going. Her shots began landing consistently just inside the lines, and she won 10 consecutive points to surge ahead in the second set. She showed emotion for the first time when she hit a backhand winner to reach set point, screaming encouragement at herself. The crowd responded with a roar.

Williams won the next point with an ace, and when a replay confirmed the call to seal the set, she hollered again.

Her father and coach, Richard, stroked his chin as he watched the comeback from the photographers’ pit.

“I saw my dad, and he was so calm and so relaxed,” she said. “And I was just like, ‘OK, Serena, you can do this’. I took that energy and started playing better.”

Williams went ahead to stay by breaking serve at love for a 2-1 lead in the final set. She closed out the victory with a 116-mph ace.