Andy Murray came through a tough encounter against the croatian giant Ivo Karlovic, eventually winning 7-6(7) 6-7(3) 6-3.

Murray started slowly, poor serving and careless groundstrokes contributing to the loss of his own serve to go 1-2 down. But after a few games getting used to returning Karlovic's huge serve, he finally started to get balls back in play, recovering the break when Ivo was unable to deal with a couple of fiercely struck returns.

A change of tactics saw Murray serve and volley for the rest of the set, as he successfully took the net away from his opponent. Two weak sliced backhands into the net left the croatian break point down but an ace rescued him this time.

Into the tiebreak, neither player could find his rhythm,  a couple of wild forehands and a desperately poor sliced backhand into the net from Karlovic, missed first serves, a double fault, and poor passing shots from Murray. Andy needed four set points before clinching the tiebreak 9-7 when a slower first serve got a weak reply and Karlovic failed to return Murray's overhead. 

Murray started the second set as he had the first, this time a pair of unforced volley errors then a double fault on break point as he handed Karlovic the early break. Despite a few inspired shots Andy looked in trouble until he put together a series of superb returns as Ivo served for the set; a brilliant forehand pass whipped crosscourt onto the line clinching the break. The tiebreak was close until an unwise and woefully executed drop shot cost Andy the first mini-break and then a series of super reflex volleys from the croatian as he levelled the match at one set all.

Karlovic appeared exhausted in the early stages of the deciding set, conceding his own serve to love as Murray's aggressive play gave him a 3-0 lead. Abandoning his tactic of serve and volley, and serving at a reduced pace, Murray handed Karlovic the initiative and paid the price as Ivo broke back with a winning forehand pass after a long game. But Andy broke straight back with a couple of inspired forehand passes; one winner crosscourt, then another down the line. Despite a patchy final service game Murray held on for the victory 7-6 6-7 6-3.

A fascinating match full of sublime tennis from both players; Karlovic's volleying, especially on the stretch, was superb, while many of Murray's lobs and passing shots were a joy to watch. And yet Andy will have been disappointed at the way he managed to concede his serve three times to a player with such a poor return game. He'll need to play the key points on his own serve a lot better if he is to beat Tommy Haas in the next round.