MADRID, 17 October 2006 — British No. 1 Andy Murray booked his place in the second round of the Madrid Masters on Monday with a comfortable 6-2, 6-4 win over Spanish qualifier Ivan Navarro Pastor.
The 19-year-old Scot, who has stumbled out at the first hurdle in 10 tournaments this year, made a confident start on his debut appearance in the $2.50 million hard court event.
He broke serve in the fourth and eighth games, taking the first set with a delicate lob. He was pushed harder in the second but stepped up a gear at 4-4 and won the match with a classy cross court shot.
Murray, who reached the semifinals of the Toronto Masters in August, will now meet last year’s losing finalist Ivan Ljubicic in the second round. The Croat, seeded three in Madrid, won his third title of the season with a straight sets victory over Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez at the Vienna Open at the weekend.
Murray’s predecessor as British No. 1 Tim Henman, who beat the Scot in Bangkok last month and has been given a wild card in Madrid, is in action later against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco.
Mardy Fish of the US had to battle from a set down to see off Belgium’s Xavier Malisse 5-7 6-3 7-5 and earn himself a second round match against champion Rafael Nadal.
The 20-year-old Spaniard has struggled to find his rhythm on hard courts in recent weeks, losing in straight sets to Sweden’s Joachim Johansson in the second round in Stockholm earlier this month. Chile’s Nicolas Massu, who lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2003 final, came from a set down to draw level at a set apiece with former French Open winner Gaston Gaudio but won through after the Argentine retired with stomach problems. He now faces a daunting second round clash against top seed and world No. 1 Roger Federer, who is bidding to win his 10th title of the season in Madrid.
There was disappointment for another former French Open champion Carlos Moya who was overwhelmed by Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-2 in his first round match. Asian No. 1 Paradorn Srichaphan swept past Spanish qualifier Gorka Fraile 6-2, 6-2 in 55 minutes and will now face Gonzalez, while Agustin Calleri will meet 11th seeded Czech Tomas Berdych after a 7-6, 6-3 win over Frenchman Florent Serra.
