Murray sparkles in Aus Open

Andy Murray's form matched the scorching temperatures as the British third seed powered into the Australian Open third round in straight sets. The reigning US Open champion conceded just eight games in putting away 100th-ranked Portuguese Joao Sousa, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in 1hr 41min on Hisense Arena. In ambient temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit), the Scot was too hot to handle, breaking Sousa's service five times without facing a break point. Murray, a twice runner-up at the Australian Open, will next play Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis, who was his practice partner when he won the lead-up Brisbane International a fortnight ago. "It's tough to get used to these conditions and it was extremely tough out there, and it was good to get it done in three sets," said Murray, who trained in the heat of Miami before travelling to Australia. Murray controlled the match and had two service breaks to wrap up the opening set in 31 minutes. He quickly reinforced that with further breaks in Sousa's opening two service games in the second set, which he clinched with a forehand winner. There was little Sousa could do and he was broken again at the start of the final set as Murray coasted to victory. It was Murray's sixth consecutive match victory this season after he beat Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov to win his 25th career title at the Brisbane International. From AFP