Andy Murray wasted little time in progressing to the third round of the French Open with a routine 6-3 6-1 6-3 win against Australian Marinko Matosevic at Roland Garros. The reigning Wimbledon champion had looked a little shaky in his opening match of the tournament against Andrey Golubev, dropping a set on his way to victory, but the Scotsman looked in dominant form as he made light work of Matosevic to book a third round clash against Philipp Kohlschreiber – in a game Murray will start as the firm Betfair favourite.
The number seven seed took control of the tie in the first game by breaking his opponent’s serve. From then on, Matosevic looked like a player making his first appearance in the second round of a Grand Slam, with Murray wrapping up the first set without really stepping out of second gear.
The second set looked to be going the same way as the first after Murray raced to a 2-0 lead with an early break of serve, but while Matosevic managed to briefly hold his serve, it was only a momentary slice of respite and the 2012 Olympic gold medal winner made light work of securing the second set 6-1.
By the third set, Matosevic had the look of a man resigned to his fate, with the Aussie again failing to really test Murray’s defensive game. After shooting to a 4-1 lead, Murray took his foot off the gas with the match all but won, allowing Matosevic to collect his first break of serve in the match. Losing a break of serve only woke Murray back up, however, and the world number eight converted his first match point of the tie with a clinical backhand return winner to wrap up the victory in less than two hours.
While the Betfair odds are unsurprisingly still tipping defending champion Rafael Nadal for the title, Murray’s impressive form so far in the tournament has seen his odds shorten since the opening round.
