adminUnbeaten Andy Murray kept his clay-court purple patch alive yesterday, defeating Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Italian Open. Murray now owns a dominating 10-0 start on the dirt as he competes at the Foro Italico after making a late decision to see how his body had held up after his stunning Madrid Open win on Sunday.
The third-seeded Scot is bidding for a potential pre-Roland Garros trophy hat-trick after winning the first clay honour of his career in Munich and following up with a huge title success in Madrid at the expense of Spain’s king of clay Rafael Nadal.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old is playing Rome for the tenth straight edition, now standing a level 9-9 over his career at the venue.
He reached the quarter-finals in 2014, losing to Nadal in three sets.
Murray beat Chardy in 84 minutes with six aces and three breaks of the Frenchman’s serve, leading 6-1 in the series. The seed’s victory was his 31st of the season against five defeats.
American John Isner continued to play outside of his comfort zone, the 16th seed sending over 11 aces in a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 defeat of Argentine Leonardo Mayer.
Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez accounted for Ukrainian qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-3.
In the women’s draw, second seed Simona Halep made up for last week’s surprise opening exit in Madrid, defeating American Alison Riske 6-3, 6-0 for a place in the third round. — AFP
Online Reporter