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18:34 GMT, Wednesday, 28 May 2008 19:34 UK

Superb Murray storms past Acasuso

French Open: Sunday 25 May to Sunday 8 June
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Andy Murray gave his best ever performance on clay in an impressive straight-sets win over Argentina's Jose Acasuso at the French Open.

The British number one put a patchy first-round display behind him as he stormed to a 6-4 6-0 6-4 win and a third-round clash with Nicolas Almagro.

Murray took control from the outset, breaking in game one and serving out the set comfortably.

And the 21-year-old only got stronger, sealing the win in one hour 37 minutes.

Murray felt he had proved a point after admitting he had been in poor form in his opening match against French teenager Jonathan Eysseric.

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"Have to say I have not seen Andy play better than that"
incredibleAldo

"I felt my performances on clay have been decent this year but I keep getting questioned why I'm not doing better," he said.

"I wanted to show I could beat a good clay court player.

"Acasuso might not be a Federer or a Nadal but I showed I can play on clay. I wanted to show to myself I can do it.

"To win in straight sets, not lose my serve and break five or six times doesn't happen too often. It's not too often a match goes as well as that.

"I'm very pleased, it was a great performance. I was very aggressive and my shot selection was great."

Murray appeared determined to make amends for his passive display against Eysseric from the outset.

A well-timed drop shot followed by a fabulous lob earned him two break points in the opening game and he seized the advantage by hammering a backhand down the line.

Acasuso, who had struggled in the lead-up to the French Open, had a point to break straight back and then had three more opportunities to level the set in the fifth game.

But Murray survived all three, his net play particularly catching the eye, and was never really troubled again as Acasuso appeared to lose heart.

Murray's only grumble came as he came to serve out the match when his racquet clashed with a linesman at deuce.

He said: "It's never happened to me before. I hit him hard on his head or shoulder and couldn't control the ball.

"The umpire said if you do hit the line judge he can't do anything about it."



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Related to this story:

Murray v Acasuso as it happened (28 May 08 |  Tennis )
Murray survives French Open test (25 May 08 |  Tennis )
Murray v Eysseric as it happened (25 May 08 |  Tennis )

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