Two matches into the Miami Open tournament and Britain's number one seems to be settling in nicely, both in terms of the event itself, but also no doubt in his second home in southeastern Florida. Andy Murray's 3rd round performance against the Colombian 27-year-old Santiago Giraldo was certainly professional enough, clinching a 6-3 6-4 success.
With the top seeds having byes through the first round, Murray had so far only had to overcome the American Donald Young. That was achieved in much the manner expected of a player ranked three for the event, who seems to have found the formula for handling whatever Young throws at him at present.
Giraldo, the 27th seed, was expected to be a tougher assignment, with his powerful groundstrokes having the potential to upset the Scot, should he play his 'A' game. Murray had also lost previously to the Colombian in 2014 at the Madrid Open, which was his first success against a player ranked in the top ten.
The two-time Grand Slam winner was keen to attack whenever he could against Giraldo, particularly when offered the second serve, and it paid off in the 6th game of the first set as he made the break. That proved decisive in his taking the set and looked to have spurred him on to a far more comfortable exercise in set two, as he stormed into a 4-0 lead and seemed likely to take the match in quick time.
As often occurs when a player seemingly has nothing to lose, Giraldo suddenly seemed freed up to go for his shots and it worked to his advantage, as he clawed his way back into the set, but could not prevent Murray finishing the contest on his 5th match point.
Murray, who has won the Miami title twice in his lifetime, moves forward to a meeting with South African Kevin Anderson next, when the last-16 stage kicks off.
Anderson beat Leonardo Mayer 6-4 6-4 in his third round match. A victory there for the Brit would take his tally of career wins to 500, but the Scot looks eager to progress even further into the later stages in Miami again. He will have to contend with the solid serving of the 6'8" giant, although the head to head is favourable at 3-1 in Murray's favour and he has won their last two meetings.
