Andy Murray further boosted his chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals with a 7-5 6-2 win over Jerzy Janowicz at the Shanghai Masters.
The Scot eased into the last-16 of the tournament he won in 2010 and 2011 to continue his good form on the ATP's China swing which saw him win in Shenzhen and get to the semi-finals of the China Open last week.
Murray moved himself up to ninth in the rankings with his performances in Shenzhen and Beijing as he aims for the top-eight spot that will see him qualify for the season-ending tournament in London.
The first set was a high-quality affair with Murray ruthless on serve as he got 82 per cent of first serves in and dropped just four points in his opening six games.
But Janowicz, who took Murray to three sets in the first round in Beijing last week, is made of stern stuff and he saw off two break points before eventually succumbing in game 12 and surrendering the set.
Murray broke in game four of the second to take a 3-1 lead and things looked ominous for his Polish opponent when he was forced to call for the trainer for some treatment.
The next three games went with serve but Janowicz handed Murray a third break and the match with a double fault to see the 27-year-old advance in one hour and 28 minutes to face David Ferrer in the next round.
The Spaniard, who is also chasing a spot in the top-eight, had more work to do to advance as he overcame Martin Klizan 4-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-4.
Murray has won seven of his previous 12 battles against Ferrer and is expecting a tough test on Thursday.
"You need to play a high, high level to win against him," he told www.atpworldtour.com.
"He certainly doesn't give away many matches during the year. (He) Certainly hasn't given me any matches when I've played against him.
"In these conditions, if you serve well, you can get free points on your serve, and that can help against someone that obviously returns well. Try and get some free points there. Hopefully play a solid match."
Battling to qualify for the end-of-year tournament is a relatively new experience for Murray as he held a continuous position in the world's top five from September 2008 until January this year but he insists he is not phased by the situation.
"All of the players that are looking to qualify for the World Tour Finals will be aware of what's going on," he added.
"But you need to just concentrate on trying to win your matches. That's the best thing that you can do for your chances to qualify.
"I haven't been in this position for a while, so in some ways it's kind of new. But I'm enjoying it so far. (It is) Just giving me a little bit of extra focus and direction for the last few tournaments."
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