Murray made to work in LA

Murray: Through in three sets

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Andy Murray won his first match since firing coach Miles Maclagan, though he was pushed to three sets by Tim Smyczek in the ATP Farmers Classic.

The British number one triumphed 6-1 4-6 6-2 in the second-round clash in Los Angeles to set up a tie against Alejandro Falla.

However he was pushed hard by American Smyczek, who is ranked 192 in the world and only registered his first win on the ATP Tour with a straight-sets victory in the opening round.

Murray, who announced on Tuesday that his two-and-a-half year partnership with Maclagan had ended, showed no signs of rustiness in the opening set.

But things got a little tougher for the Scot in the second, his cause not helped by his first-serve percentage dipping down to 42 percent.

Topsy-turvy

Smyczek broke in the fourth and eighth games and although Murray levelled matters on each occasion, a third break proved enough for the home favourite to level the match at one set apiece.

The match continued in topsy-turvy fashion at the start of the third - the pair trading breaks in the opening two games.

A second break for Murray in game three proved crucial though, the top seed stepping up to register a hard-fought victory in his first competitive outing since losing to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

"The first set was good and I started the second set with chances," he told www.atpworldtour.com afterwards.

"I was struggling a little bit with my movement, when I got stiff and sore. But I managed to find a way to win.

"The top of my right hip and lower back was stiff. It isn't an injury, just on one of the changeovers my muscles started hurting. The last few changeovers I was standing up - something I have never done on tour before.

"There is a huge difference between the grass courts and hard."

Falla awaits the world number four in the last eight after the Colombian knocked out fifth seed Ernests Gulbis 4-6 6-3 7-6 (10-8).

Left-hander Falla had lost in the first round of his three previous events but proved too strong for an opponent who was playing for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury at the French Open.

Spaniard Feliciano Lopez is also through following a 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 result against Dudi Sela, while James Blake won 7-5 7-6 (7-5) against Benjamin Becker to reach his first quarter-final on the ATP Tour since February.