Andy Murray disposed of Joao Sousa in clinical fashion today to ease into the third round of the Australian Open.
The Portuguese was brushed aside 6-2 6-2 6-4 as the world number three advanced to a last-32 meeting with Ricardas Berankis.
Importantly, on the hottest day of the tournament so far - temperatures moved beyond 100F in Melbourne - Murray got the job done in just an hour and 41 minutes, conserving energy for what he hopes will be a concerted push for a second successive grand slam crown following his maiden major win at the US Open.
Read our blogger from Oz Gary Johnston, and his account of the match
"It doesn't matter how much training you do, it's tough in these conditions," he said.
"It's extremely hot, especially when the sun comes through the clouds. It's good to get it done in three sets.
"The longer the rallies go the tougher it becomes on the legs.
"You need to get in control of the points and dictate them because otherwise you will get very tired very quickly."
The match itself was a no-contest, the outcome never in doubt with Sousa's game simply not big enough to cause Murray any significant problems.
The world number 100 had limited chances to impress as Murray dictated the match from the baseline.
And on the rare occasion he had to escape from trouble, the Scot's serve came to his aid.
Murray broke to establish a 2-1 lead and although Sousa threatened an immediate response at deuce in the next game a wonderful backhand pass up the line and an ace saw the Scot extend his advantage.
Another break put Murray in total control and he had few alarms in serving it out to move a set up.
The second set continued in the same vein with Sousa unable to make any inroads.
A horribly shanked forehand handed Murray another break in the first game, a gift he hardly needed.
And when Murray claimed the Sousa serve once more, having chased down a drop shot and forced an error from his opponent, for 3-0 the writing was on the wall for the 23-year-old from Guimaraes.
To his credit, he got on the board in the fifth game - albeit with plenty of help as Murray's concentration wavered - but it did little to stem the tide as Murray held for 5-1 having been taken to deuce.
Two holds followed as Murray cruised into a two-set lead.
Any remote hope the crowd had of a Sousa comeback was evaporating by the minute and Murray kept his foot on the gas by starting the third set with yet another break - his fifth of the contest.
A powerful forehand return put him 30-40 up and, having moved his opponent round the court, he took the chance when Sousa could only put a desperate lob beyond the baseline.
Murray was clearly in the mood for a quick finish and he showed his desperation to get the job done with a loud yell of anguish after putting a backhand into the net in the seventh game.
He was irritated further as a break point came and went before Sousa, via a neat serve and volley, took it to remain just one break down at 4-3.
It was to prove enough though as two confident holds saw Murray progress to a meeting with Berankis.
"I have practised with Berankis a lot," said Murray.
"He is a very hard worker, he has had a couple of injuries over the last couple of years and it will be tough."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article