Andy Murray through to third round of Barcelona Open without playing a shot

Murray joins Dan Evans, his fellow Briton, in the last 16

Andy Murray was originally going to skip the Barcelona Open but decided to play after being eliminated in Monte Carlo (Getty)

Andy Murray advanced to the last 16 of the Barcelona Open without playing a shot after Australia’s Bernard Tomic withdrew before their match through injury.

Tomic, who needed three sets to defeat Dustin Brown in the first round on Tuesday, said he would not be able to face Murray on Wednesday because of a problem with his lower back.

Murray will now play the winner of the match between Spain’s Albert Montanes and Feliciano Lopez.

The top-ranked Murray was originally going to skip the Barcelona Open but decided to play after being eliminated in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.

Murray is trying to regain his form going into the French Open following a right elbow injury that kept him out of the Miami Open and the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Dan Evans, Murray’s fellow Briton, is also through to the third round in Barcelona and will face Austria’s Dominic Thiem on Thursday.

Evans beat Germany’s Mischa Zverev 6-4 6-4 on Tuesday, picking up only his second win on clay at ATP Tour level.

Additional reporting by AP