Andy Murray started Brisbane off slowly, dropping his initial sets in the first two rounds, but when it came to potentially tough opponents, he’s cranked up his play.  In the previous round, he beat up on Marcos Baghdatis with a straight set win including two breaks in each set.

This time around, Murray was up against Bernard Tomic.  Tomic has been basically playing on the pro tour since he was 15.  He’s played a very limited schedule, a few tournaments each year, though he should be getting close to playing a normal schedule.  Tomic’s style has been compared to Andy Murray.  Tomic likes to hit off-pace shots, and just when you want to  move him around the court, he hits a powerful down-the-line forehand.  These off-pace shots tend to bewilder opponents who find it hard to attack and end up playing Tomic’s game exchanging slices with him.

And Tomic is not exactly a small guy.  He’s pretty tall.  For a guy his size, and for his relative lack of mobiilty, one would imagine he’d hit a lot harder.  Tomic has, apparently, worked on his mobility.  One reason Andy Murray can play his finesse game is because he’s so fast.  Tomic has had to compensate for his slowness by taking big shots when he’s on the run.

Apparently Murray was able to handle Tomic by not giving him opportunities to set up his big shots.

Final score: 63 62.

Murray will take on Alexandr Dolgopolov who beat Gilles Simon 63 64, despite needing an injury timeout.  Dolgopolov can be a bit tricky too.  Last year, Murray played the Ukrainian in the quarters of the Australian Open.  He won, but it was awkward for him, and he felt he needed some practice to get some of the rhythm back.

Ivan Lendl has already arrived in Australia and was able to watch his match against Tomic.  He’ll probably consult a bit with Tony Roche, but Lendl has been coached for many years and surely contributed to his own coaching.  Although he’s known to have an abrasive personality, he did work with a laid back Roche showing he can co-exist with a calm person.