'I can take some inspiration' - Andy Murray taking lead from Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic after Surbiton Trophy win

Andy Murray was given a serious test before seeing off Gijs Brouwer 7-6 (4) 7-6 (3) to reach the Surbiton Trophy quarter-finals, and he is looking to take inspiration from Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic at the French Open. The former world No. 1 is seeking a first singles title on grass since 2016, with another aim being to gain match sharpness ahead of a tilt at Wimbledon.

Ad/> He breezed past Jurij Rodinov inside an hour on Monday, but it was a far sterner test against the Dutchman. Roland-Garros'Zverev has the perfect game to play Nadal' — Wilander24 MINUTES AGO The opening set was a battle of serves, with it going Murray’s way in a breaker thanks to a brilliant backhand winner. Murray was on the back foot when dropping his serve in the second set, but Brouwer made the cardinal sin of handing it straight back.

A second breaker was required, and it was Murray’s serve which saw him through to the winning line. “My serving numbers were excellent throughout the match, like they were in the first round and that wasn’t the case at all during the grass-court season last year,” Murray said. “I struggled a lot with my serve then and it makes it difficult on this surface when you are not getting free points on serve.

«We have been practising off site at one of the other facilities where the courts are very different to here and I didn’t feel that comfortable on the court today in comparison to the first round. Certain things were still very good.” 'A big challenge coming' — Nadal on high alert ahead of Zverev semi ‘I can return’ – Nadal rows back on retirement hint While Murray said there is improvement to come, he felt being forced to fight will stand him in good stead for later in the summer. “Today wasn’t my best performance,