Compared to the two big men with big serves he has faced so far, he knows Sousa will give him plenty of rhythm, lots of long rallies and the chance to hone his ball-striking.
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Ana Ivanovic was concerned when she heard a loud noise as a spectator fell on some stairs at Rod Laver Arena, an accident that delayed her second-round match for nearly a half hour at the Australian Open.
The Scot continued: “Was I surprised he said it?”
Murray, a four-times runner-up at Melbourne Park, likes nothing more than fending off the heavy hitters and had too much craft for Groth as he won the first nine games on the way to a straightforward 6-0 6-4 6-1 victory.
“Bruno’s got great returns”, he said.
“It is not a shot I practise but I hit it loads”.
“I really don’t count the games”, she said after Thursday’s match.
Having to face Djokovic in another final this would be problematic for Murray since he has lost 10 of their last 11 meetings. Despite finishing at No. 2 in 2015 and leading Great Britain to a first Davis Cup title since 1936, one could argue that the second best player in the world a year ago was Federer.
Play began on time at the three covered stadiums, including a third-round match between 12th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland and Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine on the main Rod Laver Arena.
Murray added: “I just tried to keep fighting. Right now I just can’t wait to be out here again”.
Sousa, however, was unable to capitalise as he carved out a number of early opportunities but each time watched Murray momentarily find his best to survive.
“[Groth] didn’t start the match off serving that well, which helped”, Murray said. ‘Zverev in the first round has a huge serve and a fantastic backhand, while Sousa doesn’t serve as well but moves terrifically well and uses his forehand more.
“It’s a weird emotion, I don’t think it will fully sink in until a couple of days time”. I think it’s been a good start.
“Plays predominantly from the back of the court, very solid from the baseline”.
No awkward silences over breakfast for the world No 2, who is into the third round of the singles, in which he will play regular Grand Slam foe Joao Sousa of Portugal.
World 67th ranked Groth had never played in the Rod Laver Arena before and looked poleaxed by nerves before getting his first game on the board after 43 minutes and then making Murray work a bit harder.
At 34, Hewitt may have enough metal in his body from various surgeries to set off a metal detector at airports but even in his last match, he scrambled and scrapped for everything. This is his 20th Australian Open and he still has the same passion to win and compete as ever.
“I was in a bit of trouble against him there”.
“It’s one of those matches which is in Andy’s hands in terms of the outcome of the match but Sousa’s got enough self-belief in himself and enough competitiveness that he can make your life potentially a little tough”.
“It’s a shame that he’s retiring but he deserves a great send-off”.
No. 18 Feliciano Lopez hit 97 winners in a 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-7 (8), 6-4 victory against Guido Pella, advancing along with No. 21 Viktor Troicki, No. 23 Monfils, and No. 31 Steve Johnson.
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It was a bitter sweet win for Murray, though, who has been sharing a house with former Wimbledon champion Marray in Melbourne.
