Andy Murray (Photo : Getty Images)
Andy Murray aims to continue his impressive start at the Shanghai Masters 2016 when he faces France's Lucas Pouille in the third round of the tournament on Thursday.
Murray stormed into Round of 16 of the Shanghai Masters after another remarkable game from world No. 2. The second seed Murray dominated after saving a break point in the opening game against Johnson en route to a straight sets victory 6-3 6-2.
"I felt like I was creating a lot of chances on his serve. I thought I moved well for the first match in new conditions," Murray said, reports the ATP's official website. "I was timing the ball well. I felt like I was controlling a lot of the rallies. Yeah, for a first match after playing pretty different conditions a few days ago, it was good."
Murray moves into the third round to face Pouille, who advanced into the next round of the ATP 1000 Masters event after defeating Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-4 7-6(10). Murray, who leads Pouille by 1-o in their FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup, has already the Frenchman this year, with the Scot dominating Pouille in their most recent battle at the Italian Open earlier this year. But despite entering the match as the heavy-favorite, Murray believes it would be a difficult task getting past Pouille, who ranks No. 16 in the world.
"It'll be a hard match," Murray said, reports the BBC. "He goes for his shots, he's a big hitter, he serves well, he's quick around the court. He takes quite a lot of risk out there."
The winner could move into the quarterfinals to face either Gael Monfils or David Goffin. Sixth-seeded Monfils defeated South Africa's Kevin Anderson 7-6(4) 6-3, while Goffin managed to overcome Benoit Paire 6-1 7-6(0).
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has been eliminated from the Shanghai Masters after getting stunned by Serbia's Viktor Troicki in their second round match 6-3 7-6(3). Troicki next faces another Spaniard in Roberto Bautista Agut, who advanced after beating Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4.
Live streaming info and score updates
Watch Andy Murray vs Lucas Pouille live via TennisTV. Live scores will be available during match time at the ATP's official website.
Video courtesy: YouTube/ATPWorldTour
