As the fourth day heatwave finally ended Murray faced his first seeded played in the tournament, overcoming the challenge with ease as he won in just over two hours.
Murray came into the match with a 7-0 winning record against the Spaniard and his victory extended this run. Lopez is a left-handed player and it is notably documented that Murray enjoys playing lefties, attributing to growing up playing with his brother Jamie.
After the match Murray told Sky Sports, "It's been a good start. It was very tricky conditions the first couple of matches with the heat but today was beautiful conditions to play in."
The match did not start well for Murray as he was broken in his opening service game for the second consecutive match. However he broke back instantly as the match started in scrappy fashion.
The errors continued to fly from both rackets as the first set advanced to a tie-break. Murray gained an early mini-break and ground out the first set courtesy of a Lopez error.
The first set galvanized the Scot and he broke instantly at the start of the second. The rest of the set passed by uneventfully as both players held their serve unchallenged, Murray taking it 6-4.
By this point Lopez cut a beaten figure as he was broken twice in the third set to find himself 4-1 down. Murray ruthlessly saw out the match playing a couple of stylish winners before a Lopez error gifted him the match.
In the fourth round Murray will play record-breaking Frenchman Stephane Robert. With a three set victory over Martin Klizan, Robert became the first ever 'lucky loser' to advance to the fourth round of a Grand Slam.
Should Murray beat Robert he will face the daunting prospect of a match against either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter finals.
Published on SEaT Capital.
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