Top seed Andy Murray has eased his way into the third round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati after defeating Argentina’s Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-2.
It was a far from perfect performance from the world No.2, who produced 15 winners compared to 17 unforced errors. Nevertheless, the Brit overcame his minor blips to seal the straight sets win in just under 80 minutes.
There were also concerns about a potential shoulder injury for Murray. During his match, he received treatment during the match on his right shoulder. Murray enters the tournament just days after winning an Olympic gold medal at the Rio Games. Fears about a potential injury was dismissed by Murray shortly after that match, who blame his pain on adjusting to the different tennis balls.
“That’s something that’s not easy for tennis players. You have to be careful with that, because it totally changes how it feels on the racquet. Obviously that would change how it feels through your body as well. Obviously on the serve, the shoulder feels it quite a lot. Some guys get problems with their wrist with ball changes. For me sometimes it’s my shoulder,” Murray said. “Hopefully that gets better as the week goes on.”
Awaiting Murray in the third round will be South Africa’s Kevin Anderson. The world Nop.24 experienced little difficulty during his 6-2, 6-4, win over the injury-plagued 13th seed Richard Gasquet.
Marin Cilic raced through his match against Fernando Verdasco. The former US Open champion, who recently hired Jonas Bjorkman as his new coach, dismissed his opponent 6-1, 6-3, in less than an hour. The triumph has booked Cilic with a showdown against Tomas Berdych. Berdych battled his way past Marcel Granollers 6-3, 7-6(4).
Borna Coric outlasted Nick Kyrgios in their marathon two-and-a-half-hour encounter. The Croat fended off a match point to seal the win 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(6). Cincinnati is the first tournament where Coric has recorded back-to-back wins since the French Open.
“It was a very good match. I’m extremely happy with my performance. I was lucky at times and unlucky at other times, but overall I was brave on the big points,” Coric said.
“I will have this pressure to perform for the next 10 years or more, but I don’t have any problems with it. I see it as a challenge.”
Coric will play third seed Rafael Nadal in the next round.
