Andy Murray may be progressing well in the Cincinnati Masters, but he accepts he needs to improve in the third round against Ernests Gulbis on Thursday evening (Murray 1/5, Gulbis 10/3 – Match Prices).

Murray (3/1 to win Cincinnati Masters) scraped past world number 58 Jeremy Chardy 6-3 6-7 (7-3) 6-2 on Wednesday night, with a poor second set contributing to the longevity of the match.

The Scot holds a 4-0 unbeaten record against Gulbis but is aware that the Latvian poses a tough prospect.

Murray can take confidence from the fact he beat Gulbis in straight sets at last year’s US Open and Wimbledon, but he is also aware that he cannot make the mistakes he made against Chardy as he will be punished.

He seemed destined for a routine victory in his second round match as he only dropped three points in his first set service games. However, he lost three service games in a row during the second set, blew a match point opportunity on his serve at 5-4 and lost the subsequent tie-break.

The third set was considerably better for Murray as he took advantage of his tiring opponent but the match still lasted over two hours and questions will now be raised about Murray’s fitness heading into this evening?s clash.

Speaking to Sky Sports after Wednesday’s encounter, Murray was critical of himself, saying; “Up to 6-3 and 4-3 I was feeling fine, I wasn’t making any mistakes and he was just going for everything and making lots of errors.

“I didn’t serve particularly well but it was more the way I was hitting the ball from the back of the court. I was hitting the ball short, I wasn’t moving my legs at all and he got into a bit of rhythm.”

Speaking about his latest opponent, Murray was aware that Gulbis could do some damage. The British number one said: “He (Gulbis) is a good player. He’s got a really big game quite similar to Chardy. I don’t know if it shows but it’s a really fast court and maybe that’s why my timing is a little off.”