Scot Andy Murray celebrated his birthday with a gritty victory over tricky Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer to reach the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters tournament yesterday.
Murray, who was 27 yesterday, was broken in the opening game and faced several other nervy moments but managed to take the first set to a tiebreak, where he won 15 of the next 16 points to gain a stranglehold on the contest.
Despite being a set and a break down, Melzer hit back, although Murray was equal to the challenge and closed out a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win to book a last-eight place.
The Scot is starting to find some encouraging form as he bids to mount a challenge at the French Open this month.
