World No.1 Andy Murray has made a winning start to his campaign at this year’s Madrid Open by disposing of Marius Copil 6-4, 6-3.
The clash on the Manolo Santana stadium was a tale of two world’s. Top seed Murray has never lost his opening match in Madrid and is a two-time champion. Meanwhile, the more inexperienced Copil was entering new territory. The Romanian entered the top-100 for the first time in his career earlier this week following his first round win. Copil has never defeated a top-10 player (0-4) with his biggest scalp being Marin Cilic at the 2012 Beijing Open (who was then ranked 13th in the world).
Such a disparity between the two players paved way for the inevitable outcome of the match. Murray’s power and defensive play were matched by some world-class shot-making from Copil. The display produced by the underdog earned him a growing fanbase in the crowd, but Murray still triumphed in the clutch moments. Breaking once in each set, the Brit secured the victory after 83-minutes of play.
Murray’s straightforward win hid the fact that he struggled to adjust to the humid conditions in Madrid. This combined with Copil’s game proved to be a tougher than expected test for the Brit.
“I found it a bit difficult at the beginning to adjust to the conditions. Also, I’ve never played him (Copil) before. He serves big, comes forward a bit, uses dropshots. It was tricky.” Said Murray.
“But when I started to control the points more towards the end of the first set and second set, you know, I was hitting the ball pretty clean, creating a few chances. I didn’t give him any opportunities. It was good for the first match.” He continued.
The story of Murray’s triumph is illustrated in the statistics. The Brit hit fewer winners than his rival (14-20), but more crucially produced less unforced errors (20-26). Still, the world No.1 was full of praise about Copil’s performance at the Caja Magica.
“He’s very good.” The top seed admitted. “The more you’re exposed to this level at these tournaments, obviously it helps your game. I’m sure he’ll keep getting better.”
Striving to be better
The opening win in Madrid comes as Murray seeks to regain his dominance on the tour. Briefly sidelined from action earlier this year due to a wrist injury, the Brit has made a steady start on the clay. His third round defeat in Monte Carlo was followed up by a run to the semifinals in Barcelona.
“I don’t think I’m playing perfectly just now. I think there’s just things I can definitely do better.” Said Murray.
“But the most positive thing about tonight was that I feel like I can serve a little bit better than I did today.”
Handed a day off tomorrow, Murray will resume his campaign on Thursday against either Borna Coric or Paul-Henri Herbert.
