World number three Andy Murray will be determined to get off to a fast start when he takes on Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open.
Murray has shown signs of rustiness in the opening rounds at Indian Wells. He had to come from a set down to avoid an embarrassing defeat and potentially shocking result in the tennis betting odds to Evgeny Donskoy in round two and got off to another sluggish start against Yen-Hsun Lu.
Lu took the match to Murray in the opening exchanges of Tuesday’s contest. He surprised the US Open champion by taking the ball early and hitting it flat. The underdog created five break points in the opening set but was unable to take them and Murray eventually wore him down.
The 6-3 6-2 scoreline suggests the tie was a comfortable one for Murray. However, the British number one admitted that “it was a tough match”. He is keen to impose himself earlier in matches in the latter stages of the tournament. “I need to start games a bit better because I was letting him dictate a lot of points. He was able to change the direction of the ball and that left me a bit flat-footed at some points,” Murray told BBC Radio Five Live. “I felt a bit sluggish because he was so sharp, taking it so early at the beginning of the match but that improved as the match went on.”
Murray took a break from action after his painful loss to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. His match against Donskoy was his first in six weeks and it is fair to say the Scot is still blowing the cobwebs away.
The 25-year-old will strive for a much-improved performance against Del Potro, with one eye on a potential meeting with old rival Djokovic in the semifinals.
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