ROME — Andy Murray improved his record on clay this year to 10-0 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over 38th-ranked Jeremy Chardy at the Italian Open Wednesday. The third-seeded Murray considered withdrawing before the tournament because of fatigue after his perfect start to the clay-court season, but his game showed no signs of wear at the Foro Italico. “My legs were a bit tired at the beginning then I started to feel better after the first few games. I felt like I played a really great match,” said Murray, who committed only 10 unforced errors to Chardy's 26. “I moved well and made it difficult for him to get free points.” Seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal was also sharp in a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Turkish qualifier Marsel Ilhan; and fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori advanced with a 7-6 (3), 7-5 win over Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic. Nadal will next meet John Isner, who served 11 aces in a 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over Leonardo Mayer of Argentina. Nadal is 5-0 against Isner but needed three sets to beat the 2.08-meter (6-foot-10) American in Monte Carlo last month, and had to come back from two sets down against him during the first round of the 2011 French Open. In women's play, Christina McHale of the US defeated last year's finalist, Sara Errani, 6-4, 6-4 in front of the Italian's home crowd and will next face top-ranked Serena Williams. Also, second-seeded Simona Halep beat Alison Riske of the US 6-3, 6-0, Russian qualifier Daria Gavrilova eliminated seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic 5-7, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (7); Serbian qualifier Bojana Jovanovski defeated Madison Keys of the US 6-4, 1-6, 6-3; and Eugenie Bouchard of Canada beat Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4. Elsewhere Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Kristina Mladenovic of France 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus downed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 7-6 (7-2). In the men's second round matches Dominic Thiem advanced when Gilles Simon of France retired with score at 7-6 (7-5), 2-0; and Thomaz Bellucci beat Roberto Bautista Agut 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. In the past two weeks, Murray won his first clay title at the Munich Open, and then beat Nadal in Sunday's Madrid Open final for his first Masters trophy on the surface. Murray has never been past the semifinals in Rome and is looking to peak at the French Open, which starts in less than two weeks. “It's not impossible,” Murray said of his chances of reaching the final or winning at Roland Garros. “Whereas, maybe the last few years, even though I played some good tennis in Paris I didn't feel like I was maybe healthy enough, or played enough matches or had enough big wins against top players to believe I could do it. “Maybe this year will be different. There's a chance. If I play well then I know I have the chance to go far in the tournament.” On Tuesday, top seed and defending champion Serena Williams crushed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-1, 6-3 in her first match since Petra Kvitova ended the American's 27-match unbeaten run in the semifinals of the Madrid Open last week. Williams needed 62 minutes to dismiss the former world number 13 in straight sets, smashing 25 winners and converting five of seven break points in a one-sided encounter. In the men's section, Bernard Tomic was eliminated by Viktor Troicki 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4). — Agencies
