World No.4 Andy Murray won a three marathon against David Nalbandian 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in 2 hours and 37 minutes to progress into Round 3 of the Rome Masters. The match was evenly poised till the end, but it was the Scot who got the all important break in the eleventh game of the final set to beat the seasoned Argentine.

In 42 minutes, Murray wrapped the first set 6-1. A set where he was not forced to do much as Nalbandian hit 17 unforced errors. Murray played a sensible set, with 9 winners. Murray broke the Nalbandian serve thrice and served out the set after a very long service game by the Argentine.

Nalbandian fought back in the second! He stepped up his game, when he had to as he broke the Murray serve in the tenth game to take the set and extend this match into a decider. As games went on serve, Nalbandian got more confident and it showed.

The final set was a very classic clay court game set, with long rallies, slides and drop shots. Both players hit some really great drop shots. In the end, it was the more consistent Murray who prevailed with 25 winners and also was helped by the 41 unforced errors by Nalbandian.