Madrid Masters 2016: Andy Murray into semi-finals after beating Tomas Berdych

Murray must win the tournament to remain at world No 2

Andy Murray celebrates reaching the semi-final of the Madrid Masters (Getty)

Andy Murray continues to prove that he is no one-season wonder on clay. After winning his first clay-court titles last year the Scot is excelling on the surface once again and will on Saturday contest his second successive Masters Series semi-final on clay.

Following his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters, Murray will continue his defence of the title he won last year when he faces the winner of Friday's meeting between Rafael Nadal, who beat the world No 2 at the same stage of last month’s Monte Carlo Masters, and Portugal’s Joao Sousa.

Murray’s 77-minute victory over Berdych was every bit as emphatic as the scoreline suggested. He served consistently well, denying Berdych any opportunities to break, and put the Czech under regular pressure on his own serve. Murray dropped only eight points on his serve in the whole match. His excellent use of the drop shot also paid a good dividend against an opponent who is not the quickest around the court.

The big-hitting Berdych has, nevertheless, given Murray plenty of problems in the past. The world No 8 had won all three of their previous meetings on clay and led 6-4 in their head-to-head record at the start of last year. However, since Dani Vallverdu, a long-time member of Murray’s coaching team, was recruited by Berdych at the end of 2014 the Scot has won all four of their subsequent meetings.

The quicker conditions in Madrid can be testing for many players, but on this occasion Murray and Berdych were presented with a different challenge. With rain falling in the Spanish capital, the match was played under a closed roof.

Murray in action in Madrid (Getty)

Murray, who beat Radek Stepanek and Gilles Simon in his first two matches, was immediately into his stride, breaking serve in the second game when Berdych missed a forehand. The Czech saved a set point when he served at 2-5, but Murray served out in the following game to take a hold on the match. Berdych held on until he served at 2-2 in the second set, upon which Murray won four games in a row to secure the victory.

After the match Murray said that his serve had again been an important factor. “There were periods in the first set where it was tough,” he told Sky Sports. “He was hitting the ball well from the middle to the end part of that first set.

“The 5-3 game was key for me to hold to win the set. He had held to win a really tough service game at 5-2. After that I served great again. My second serve was fantastic - no break points again, playing against someone who plays very well in these conditions. I used my variety well, my drop shots were good for the most part, I defended well and I stepped up when I needed to.”

Asked about the improvements to his second serve, which he is currently hitting at an average speed of 95mph (9mph faster than last year), Murray said: “Sometimes you need to make technical adjustments and have coaching on it. It’s very easy to sit in the sidelines and just say: ‘Hit the serve harder.’

“I had to make some changes to my serve. I did a lot of learning and a lot of research myself and studied a lot. I have been coached well on it and I feel much more comfortable going big on the second, There’s a lot more spin on it, so I can control the serve better now and it frees me up to go for more on my first serve as well - which is obviously a huge positive for anyone.”

He added: “There has been a big improvement in my game and that will help me a lot on the faster courts as well coming into the grass-court season.”

Murray, who needs to retain the Madrid title to avoid being replaced by Roger Federer at No 2 in the world rankings, said he had not set out to hit more drop shots. “I wanted to use my variety, especially in these conditions,” he said. “The drop shot was more instinctive today and I played them at the right time, for the most part. You are going to get some of them wrong, obviously, but it was good today.

“I didn’t watch any of my previous matches that I have played against him on the clay. I watched some of his matches from this week, because players change over time. If he watched the last time I played him on a clay court and I was serving 80mph on the second serve and then today I am serving closer to 100mph, there’s a huge difference. So I think it’s important to watch the matches of the players that they are playing currently to get a better idea of how they’re playing.”