Top seed Andy Murray continued his good form by easing into the second round of the St Petersburg [Images] Open with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Serbia's Viktor Troicki on Wednesday.

The Briton, who won the Madrid Masters on Sunday, broke the 53rd-ranked Troicki twice in the first set and once in the second.

"I was a bit tired yesterday as I flew in here right from Madrid," the world number four told reporters.

"But today I felt just fine. I didn't have much of a plan for this match, I was just trying to put pressure on him and force him into making mistakes."

Murray, who won here last year on his debut appearance at the $1 million indoor tournament in Russia's [Images] second city, now takes on 20-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis.

Former world number one Marat Safin [Images], bidding for his third St Petersburg title after winning it in 2000 and 2001, also progressed by overpowering Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 6-4.

The big Russian, seeded eighth here, will next face Kazakh qualifier Andrey Golubev, who eliminated Olivier Rochus of Belgium 6-1, 6-4.

Third-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, soundly beaten by Murray in last year's final, was the first player to reach the quarter-finals. He overwhelmed another Latvian, the 664th-ranked Karlis Lejnieks, 6-1, 6-3.

He was joined in the last eight by unseeded German Rainer Schuettler, who dispatched Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia 6-3, 6-3.

Second-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko was forced to pull out after injuring his wrist during Tuesday's first-round victory over Australian Chris Guccione.

"In one of the games when I was receiving his serve I just snapped my wrist," the world number six told a news conference.

"I was able finish the match but today I felt a lot of pain and I just can't play," said Davydenko, who has already clinched his place in next month's season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

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