Second round result:

A MURRAY GB V I LJUBICIC (3) Cro

6-4 3-6 6-3

By Tom Fordyce

Third set:

Murray 6-3 Ljubicic
There it is - an ace down the middle provides the coup de grace. Murray has beaten the world number three, and he did it with a hugely impressive performance. There's not a smile of either his face or coach Gilbert's, but you can bet they'll be happy with that.

Murray 5-3 Ljubicic
It's Ljubicic - Murray moves up a gear at the key stage and pours the pressure on the Croatian, trading raking forehands until Ljubicic makes the errors. If Murray holds, he'll have pulled it off.

Murray 4-3 Ljubicic
Ljubicic steps on the gas and pegs Murray back to 30-30. But he then mystifyingly fails to close off the court after lobbing Murray and throwing in a very casual drop-shot, and Murray puts away a cross-court winner. Who will crack first?

Murray 3-3 Ljubicic
Ljubicic is hanging in there. Murray has him on the ropes at 30-30, but Loobers suddenly kick-starts his serve to drag him back into the game. This is getting tense.

Murray 3-2 Ljubicic
No-one should be counting any cluckers yet, but the balance of power in this match seems to be shifting. Murray holds comfortably and Ljubicic starts to make unforced errors. Gilbert takes his cap off. He's excited.

Murray 2-2 Ljubicic
A real heart-breaker for Murray - after he slumps to 0-40, he fights back brilliantly to level at deuce and then contructs a wonderful point to move to advantage. When Ljubicic struggles to control a backhand volley, it seems as if the game must be Murray's - only for the ball to clip the line and be called good. After another fortunate shot that nibbles the line, Ljubicic then sees his weak forehand return hammer into the tape at the top of the net and just drop over. Murray can't believe it. I don't think I can either.

Murray 2-1 Ljubicic
As you were - another service game to love. But that's exactly what Murray needs after that second set slipped away from him so quickly. The giant screen in the stadium shows a close-up of a teenage girl in the crowd, and her face turns bright red in seconds.

Murray 1-1 Ljubicic
And it's the same story from Ljubicic. If that big first serve keeps landing in, there's not much Murray can do.

Murray 1-0 Ljubicic
Perfect game from Murray - he holds to love as all four of his first serves sizzle in.

Second set:

Murray 3-6 Ljubicic
The answer is a big fat no. Another one of those dodgy drop-shots gifts Ljubicic the advantage, and his crashing serve does the rest. The match goes to a third set...

Murray 3-5 Ljubicic
Hugely impressive from Murray. At 0-40 and staring down the wrong end of a second-set thrashing, he fights back with two great serve-volleys and then moves to advantage with a sensational stretching volley. Another big serve later and the game is his. But can he now break serve to stay in the set?

Murray 2-5 Ljubicic
Murray just can't get close to a break of the Ljubicic serve at the moment. The Croation booms one straight down the middle to move closer to levelling the match - he's now hit over 865 aces this year.

Murray 2-4 Ljubicic
Murray stays in the set as he forces Ljubicic wide on both sides with his serve. The line judges here are decked out in very non-Wimbledon attire - chinos and stripey rugby shirts. The Fulham look is obviously very in in Madrid at the moment.

Murray 1-4 Ljubicic
Ljubicic raises to 40-0, only to lose concentration and let Murray creep back to deuce. But Murray then completely mis-hits a drop-shot - again - and Ljubicic puts him away.

Murray 1-3 Ljubicic
Excellent reposte from Murray. He moves Ljubicic around the court and completely out-foxes him with his range of shots before taking the game with a lovely top-spin backhand lob.

Murray 0-3 Ljubicic
Trouble - Loobers is now in full flight, and his serve is back in the groove. Murray needs to hold his serve now to stop the rot. As the players rest at the changeover, Loobers sits motionless, staring into the middle distance as if he's been hypnotised.

Murray 0-2 Ljubicic
Uh-oh - Ljubicic, stung by the loss of the first set, fights back and takes Murray to deuce three times before snatching the break when Murray mis-hits another drop-shot. Brad Gilbert shows not a flicker of emotion in his seat high in the grandstand. His face, lit from below by the court lights, would not look out of place on the cover of the "With The Beatles" LP.

Murray 0-1 Ljubicic
Perhaps a touch over-chuffed with his first-set success, Murray goes for broke with three high-risk attempted winners. They don't come off.

First set:

Murray 6-4 Ljubicic
Murray races to 40-0 in sensational fashion, only to be hauled back as Ljubicic goes for broke with two extravagant backhands. But at 40-30 his serve forces Ljubicic wide and the return falls into the net - the first set is his.

Murray 5-4 Ljubicic
Hugely impressive from Murray - at 30-30, he controls a rally from the start and gradually squeezes the mistake from Ljubicic. At break point he does exactly the same, a deep forehand volley sealing the game. Can he now hold his serve for the set?

Murray 4-4 Ljubicic
A sweet backhand pass and another down the line brings Murray level. Brad Gilbert watches impassively from the stands. Knowing him, he's been up almost 12 hours already.

Murray 3-4 Ljubicic
It's as you were on the Loobers serve - no sniff of a break for Murray, who queries a line-call and looks outraged when Hawkeye disagrees with him.

Murray 3-3 Ljubicic
Murray plays a delightful drop-shot to begin the game, well aware that Ljubicic is staying on the baseline and isn't the fastest around court. He then polishes things off by coming in quickly to put away a high volley at the net.

Murray 2-3 Ljubicic
No sniff of a weakness from Ljubicic again. Murray mumbles to himself under his breath, but then again he is a teenager.

Murray 2-2 Ljubicic
Murray holds well after Ljubicic initially gets his nose in front with a sweet forehand cross-court winner. Murray looks like he's lost weight in recent weeks, if that were possible. If you were his mother you'd tut anxiously next time he came home with his washing.

Murray 1-2 Ljubicic
Ljubicic's slegehammer serve would scare most ordinary mortals, but Murray takes him to deuce and then a break point by keeping the ball in play and waiting for him to make the error. My sister used to use similar tactics when the pair of us played ping-pong as eight-year-olds - it used to drive me mad, although it was remarkably effective. Ljubicic saves the break and then takes the game with consecutive howitzers.

Murray 1-1 Ljubicic
Solid from the young Scot - he holds with few alarms. Umpire Grilloti is giving the score at the end of each point in both Spanish and English, which is a nice touch for those of us currently struggling in their sporadically-attended Spanish evening class.

Murray 0-1 Ljubicic
Ljubicic holds serve, but there was a lot to like there for Murray fans - his return of serve made his older opponent scamper around the court, and it took a couple of trademark meaty serves for Ljubicic to take the game.

1513: While Murray has his teenage curls hidden under a neat white cap as per usual, Ljubicic's shaved pate is glistening under the Madrid lights. Romano Grillotti is our umpire today - he's the rotund one referred to earlier, of course.

1508: Here we go - in front of almost entirely empty stands, Murray and Ljubicic stroll onto court. A rotund man in a tight red polo shirt tosses a coin, Ljubicic calls correctly and opts to serve.

1430: Andy Murray got back on track with victory over Ivan Navarro Pastor in his first match at the Madrid Masters after losing in the first round of his previous two tournaments.

It would probably be a little harsh to describe Navarro Pastor as Ivan the Terrible, but the Ivan who Murray faces today is an entirely different proposition.

Ljubicic is the world number three and has won three titles this year, reaching two other finals along the way.