Murray keeps up charge for third clay court title in as many weeks
WORLD No3 Andy Murray continued his new-found success on clay by winning a 10th consecutive match on the surface yesterday, against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy at the Italian Open.
Murray, who has already won two titles on clay this month in preparation for next week’s French Open, beat Chardy 6-4, 6-3 and faces Belgian David Goffin this afternoon in the last 16.
The Scot became the first Briton since Buster Mottram in 1976 to win a tournament on the surface when he triumphed at the Munich Open and then followed that up by winning the Madrid Masters last week.
“My legs were a bit tired at the start but they started to feel better after a few games,” said Murray, who considered skipping the event due to his busy workload.
“I don’t know how my body will feel over the next days, but I’ll try to spend as much time recovering and resting as possible.”
Fellow Brit Heather Watson, meanwhile, crashed out in Rome with an emphatic 6-1, 6-1 defeat to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro.