There was enough conviction at the end of Andy Murray's victorious debut in the Masters Cup today to overlook the hole in the middle of his performance against Andy Roddick that brought the curtain down on two days of explosive tennis that already marks the 2008 vintage down as just that. Vintage.

Murray defeated the American 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 and if the second set disappeared into a fog of errors and dispirited, despairing glances at his camp, the British No 1's response in the third set was replete with the kind of clear-thinking tennis that underscored his arrival at this juncture of his career. He will need all of that and more on Wednesday when he meets Gilles Simon, the Frenchman who climbed from the substitute's bench for this event and took full advantage of a day when Roger Federer and his forehand parted company.

Simon against Murray determines that the victor secures a place in the semi-finals. The loser has not squandered all hope but if Murray were to come second to Simon - whom he defeated in the final of the Madrid Masters last month - he would need to beat Federer on Friday to stay alive. The orders do not get much taller than that.

There was so much of Murray's performance to admire, only bits and pieces to fret about. When he opened with three aces and a glorious backhand winner in his first service game, it looked as if he would scatter Roddick to the winds. The first set was neatly packed in 41 minutes, with no suggestion that anything was amiss. Indeed, it took one of the American's most potent first serves in the opening game of the second set to prevent him from trailing to a break and staring ignominy right between the eyes.

But it was here that Murray stumbled. A couple of double faults in the second game rocked him back and he missed a crosscourt backhand lob to trail 2-0. He was down 4-0 when his backhand again broke down and had he not come to his senses and held in the sixth game to deny Roddick an opportunity of serving first in the final set, the match could have taken a really unhappy turn.

Murray opened the third set as only he could: with successive drop shots. What audacity! The purpose that had been evident in the first set then returned, his court craft grooved and it was Roddick who was bending, stretching and quite unnecessarily, taking his growing frustration out on the ballgirls who did not always meet his eye and give him his towel when required. It was all a bit distasteful.

Murray was not about to relinquish his grip for a second time and drove home his authority with two aces in the fifth game. It was Roddick's turn to put pride before a fall and deny the dreaded 6-0 set but Murray served it out with aplomb, completing the task in an hour and 35 minutes with a flashy backhand overhead winner. The effort seemed to have taken a lot out of him but it seemed to be worth it.