Former world No 1 and 2009 runner-up Andy Murray makes it 8-0 against David Goffin to reach the second round where Andrey Rublev awaits; you can watch Indian Wells plus over 80 tournaments a year, including the US Open.
The 2009 champion in the desert was simply superb on serve as he made it through to a meeting with fifth seed Andrey Rublev on Friday in style.
After starting the 2024 season 0-4, the 36-year-old has now won each of his past three first-round matches.
Murray, now ranked at No 61, never faced a break point as he improved to 8-0 against Goffin, including taking all 17 sets they've played against each other.
Strong serving was key to Murray's latest victory, with the 36-year-old winning 85 per cent (23-27) of his first-serve points and not facing a single break point in the match.
"For me it was the serve," he said. "That frees up a lot of the rest of my game. When you're always having to fight and work for points on your own serve, you feel more under pressure but today I got a lot of free points off my serve.
"That freed me up in the return games and I was able to strike the ball well from the back of the court, defended well when I had to. An all-around solid performance."
In a nip-and-tuck first set, Murray had to be patient after a break point in Goffin's opening service game was held before he was able to strike when 4-3 up.
Murray claimed his first break of the match in the eighth game and sent down two aces to seal a 34-minute opener where he won the final 10 points.
The momentum was with the British No 4 now and a double-fault by Goffin handed him an early advantage in the second set.
Murray continued to ask questions of Goffin's serve and a second break arrived to put him on the verge of a place in the last-64, which was sealed with an ace.
"It was the controlled aggression from the back of the court. He wanted to bully Goffin. He wanted to take the ball on, and he did that and kept the error count down. To win in such convincing style is a great start.
"You want to see him out on court enjoying himself. He is a perfectionist but that hasn't been happening for him recently with the frustration of practicing well and then not delivering on the match court, he knows the tennis he is capable of.
"Every win at this stage of his career is a good one."
"He was a bit more relaxed about the situation and maybe the head to head played a part being 7-0. He kind of knew he had this guy's number. He was able to play tactically well rather than get annoyed with himself. It was great to watch and I hope that run continues."
Reporting By: Ajayi Oluwaseun Michael.
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