Andy Murray defeated Jurgen Melzer 3-6 6-3 6-3 in his opening match in Indian Wells to go through to meet Ivo Karlovic in the next round. A cleanly struck backhand return winner down the line on match point was a super finish to an otherwise disappointing display from the british number one, who was somewhat fortunate that Melzer could not sustain the brilliant form he showed during the first set.

Murray sleep walked through the early stages of the match, losing the first four games as he struggled to cope with the aggressive play of the left-handed Melzer.

It was the Austrian who took the initiative at almost every opportunity, stepping in to punish second serves, showing little mercy when Murray's groundstrokes landed short during a rally. He attacked the net to volley confidently, using depth, clever angles, impressive half-volleys, overheads and stop volleys to dominate his opponent.

Murray recovered one of the breaks, largely due to Melzer's errors rather than his own good play. Then, in the key game of the set, found enough form to force four break point opportunities at 2-4 but each time the Austrian had too much quality, a super pass down the line on the run, the pick of these. Melzer taking the first set 3-6.

Into the second set Murray needed four break point chances before finally getting an early break as the Austrian's forehand misfired long. A clever drop shot from Melzer earned him the break back for 3-2 but another drop shot, this time failing to make it over the net, handed Murray the advantage once more, Andy levelling the match at one set all. Murray's level had risen somewhat and he was trying to attack the net whenever possible, but the key difference was Melzer's aggressive return of serve failing to keep the ball in court this time around.

In the deciding set a wild forehand from Melzer allowed Andy to break for 2-1. Murray had another chance to break at 4-2 but his pass went wide. By the end Melzer was struggling, too many shots landing narrowly wide, too few returns making it back into play. The final game was rather out of character with the rest of the match as Andy broke again to win 3-6 6-3 6-3.

Rare moments of brilliance from Murray, his double handed backhand cross court was impressive, and some fine volleys in his 26 winners to 26 unforced errors. His first serve percentage was 58% but many of these were eased into court rather than hit at full pace.