There was a hint of tiredness but Andy Murray staved off a mental let-down yesterday as he moved another step closer to a place in the coveted ATP World Tour Finals.
In his fifth straight week of tournaments and coming hot on the heels of his second title in a month, Murray stayed strong when he needed to as he defeated Austria's Juergen Melzer 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round of the Valencia Open 500.
In truth, Melzer, a veteran of the Tour at 33 and a fading force, never really looked consistent enough or determined enough to push Murray, even if the Scot was not at his best.
As he continues to chase points in the Race to London, his match-sharpness carried him through, even when his second serve proved particularly vulnerable, earning him just six of 20 points.
But 10 aces helped mask any deficiency and the Scot's consistency off the ground showed the merits of his month-long run, first in Asia, where he won in Shenzhen, and then to Europe last week, where he won his 30th career title in Vienna.
"It took me some time to adapt but after a couple of games, I went up a level," said Murray, who today plays the often erratic Italian, Fabio Fognini, for a quarter-final berth.
Having begun the week eighth in the Race - and in line for a place in next month's eight-man event at London's O2 - Murray's hopes received another boost when Tomas Berdych was surprisingly beaten 6-3, 6-2 in round one by Pablo Andujar.
Berdych, who triumphed in Stockholm on Sunday, is in seventh place, 220 points above Murray but his defeat means Murray would go all the way up to fifth if he were to emulate his 2009 title-run.
To do that, he may well have to get past David Ferrer yet again, the Spaniard who lies just behind him in ninth and whom the Scot edged out to win the title in Vienna.
Ferrer, who has a share in the Valencia event, had to battle more than expected against Italy's Andreas Seppi, coming from 4-1 down in the second set to win 6-3, 7-5.
There is a long way to go before their scheduled semi-final meeting but Murray's clean ball-striking yesterday showed he means business. After making the necessary adjustment for the slower court speed, his movement was exceptional at times, never more so than in the seventh game when Murray ran down a drop shot and then raced back at an angle to flick Melzer's volley for a winner down the line.
The Scot will not have been happy at dropping his serve three times, more mental lapses than anything, but he did enough to set up a meeting with Fognini.
The Italian beat him when they played in the Davis Cup in Naples on clay in April and has enjoyed his best year to be inside the world's top 20.
But though Fognini possesses real talent, his win over Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas, ranked 68, in round one was his first since the US Open.
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