Andy Murray progressed through to the third round of the Madrid Masters after Italian opponent Simone Bolelli was forced to retire injured midway through their match. The world No 4 looked on course for victory, leading 6-0, 2-1, when Bolelli quit after struggling with what appeared to be a shoulder problem.

Playing competitively for the first time since last month's Davis Cup defeat by Austria, Murray showed no signs of rustiness as he attacked his opponent from the start in a one-sided opening set. Bolelli failed to create one break point and faced eight on his serve. He saved five.

The second set had begun to follow a similar pattern as Murray held his serve and then fashioned three more break points in Bolelli's first service game. Bolelli, who upset No 17 Nicolas Almagro in the first round having only gained entry to the tournament after Marat Safin withdrew through injury, managed to stave off Murray on that occasion, but he was struggling with his shoulder. He received treatment, then lost the third game of the set before retiring.

The Scotsman will face Marin Cilic in the third round after the Croatian beat 13th seed Fernando Verdasco, of Spain, 6-2 6-3.

Murray felt the first set was among his best this season: "It's up there," he said. "I didn't make too many mistakes, hit a high percentage of first serves, and didn't lose a game. It doesn't get much better than that. I don't think he was hitting the ball badly but I defended well and took my chances."

It was Murray's first tour match since he lost to Roger Federer in the final of the US Open last month. He has worked hard in the gym since. "There's definitely no inner peace," he said. "The last goal I have left in tennis is to try to win a grand slam.

"It was a tough one for me but I'm much closer than I was last year and I can use the next three or four weeks to try out some different things that will hopefully help me. I realised around the US Open, when I have a high first-serve percentage I'm difficult to beat. That's something I've tried to improve."

Cilic is likely to be a step up in class, having impressed in his first victory over Verdasco. "I've got a tough one next," Murray said. "Cilic is playing well and on these courts he's tough to break. I haven't played a lot of matches recently and he's probably playing the best tennis of his career. I'm going to have to play solid and serve well if I want to win."