Murray cautious ahead of his 'tough' clash with Cilic

ANDY Murray is anticipating a testing encounter when he takes on "unpredictable" Croatian giant Marin Cilic for a place in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters.

Murray progressed through to a meeting with Cilic after his second-round opponent, Simone Bolelli, was forced to retire injured midway through Tuesday's encounter when the Scot was leading 6-0, 2-1.

The world No4 looked in great touch in what was his first singles match since last month's Davis Cup, but Cilic was in similarly impressive form in his own second-round clash.

He upset Spanish 13th seed Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3, and Murray knows the 20-year-old – who, at 6ft 6in, is three inches taller than the Scot – could make it very tricky for him today.

"He plays well on these courts, he's a tough player," said Murray. "Cilic's got a big game, serves well, moves pretty well for his height. He's got big groundstrokes and comes into the net a bit. He's a bit unpredictable, so I'm going to have to be really focused to win that one."

Murray has faced Cilic just once before, winning an epic encounter 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 during last year's Davis Cup match between Great Britain and Croatia. Murray has seen enough of Cilic this year to know that he can cause problems for the big boys, though, citing the Croatian's recent matches against Novak Djokovic at the US Open and Andy Roddick in Canada as prime examples.

"He's played well in big matches this year. I think he beat (Fernando] Gonzalez in the Aussie Open, had a tough match with Djokovic in the US Open. He has some chances there and has beaten Roddick," Murray added. "He's beaten some really good players over the last few months. It will be a very tough match for me. I have to play very well to win."

Cilic, ranked 24 in the world, is likely to be helped by the high-altitude conditions at the Madrid Masters. "Definitely on these courts, it's quick here. The ball flies a bit and it's tough to keep the returns down in these conditions," said Murray.

The Scot should not be short of confidence, though, having started his singles campaign impressively against Bolelli before the Italian's retirement.

"I'm probably mentally fresher now than around the time of the US Open – it was a long summer," said Murray. "Physically I felt OK. Your shot selection and focus on every point can be better when you're fresh. I've been working harder, I've been doing a lot of fitness."

Meanwhile, Roger Federer advanced to the third round last night with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Czech Radek Stepanek.

Novak Djokovic survived a stern test when Romanian Victor Hanescu limped off court with a groin strain at 6-7, 7-6, 3-1. But Russian fifth seed, Nikolay Davydenko was defeated 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 by American qualifier Robby Ginepri.