Murray battles past Mayer in Madrid

Andy Murray shrugged off his slow start to the clay-court season by reaching the last 16 of the Madrid Open with a battling win over Germany's Florian Mayer.

Rebounding from his disappointing loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in Monte Carlo last month, Murray edged Mayer over two tie-break sets to set up a third-round clash with Gilles Simon following his 7-6 (13/11) 7-6 (7/2) victory.

The Scot was pushed to the limit by the world number 26, saving five set points in a marathon first set tie-break which he eventually won 13-11.

An early break from Mayer gave the German a 4-1 advantage in the second, but Murray summoned extra reserves of strength to break back in the seven game of the set with a superb pass down the line.

The 29-year-old Mayer, who lost his only previous meeting with Murray in Rome in 2011, responded well by holding to love, then saving two break points at 5-5 which would have given Murray the chance to serve for the match.

But there was no repeat of the tight first set tie-break second time round, as Murray charged into a 5-1 lead and eventually converted his second match point at 6-2 with a backhand pass for a satisfying victory.