Melbourne, Jan 19: Andy Murray extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 10 matches and reached the fourth round at the Australian Open here Saturday after beating practice partner Ricardas Berankis 6-3, 6-4, 7-5.
Murray and world No.110 Lithuanian qualifier Berankis have practised together in Australia over the past two years, reports Xinhua.
However, the match was not all plain sailing for the Scot. The world No.3 appeared agitated at various stages, hitting his racquet on the court and yelling at his courtside box when he trailed by a break of serve in the second set.
“I was struggling. Berankis made me feel pretty frustrated.”said Murray. “We know each other well and we have practised together. He was making me feel pretty uncomfortable out there.”
“Every player wants to hit the ball well every day if they can but the reality is it isn't always going to happen.”said Murray. “So I'm aware I'll need to improve.”
Murray served for the match at 5-4 in the third set but Berankis broke back. Then the 22-year-old dropped his next service game and Murray made no mistake in his second attempt at closing the victory.
The Olympic and US Open champion will next face the winner of the all-French affair between Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon.
