British number one Andy Murray has admitted that he is beginning to feel more comfortable on clay surfaces following his third-round victory over Jurgen Melzer in the Italian Open.

The Scotsman, who is still without a coach, secured a 7-6(1) 6-4 win to reach the quarter-finals.

"This week I wanted to try and play solid tennis as much as possible and I did a pretty good job today in tricky conditions," Murray told Sky Sports News.

"On the whole I am happy on clay. There are still some things I would like to do better, it is still a surface that takes me some time to get used to. I sometimes slide too early when I don't need to but for the most part I moved pretty well and chased as many balls as possible."

Murray will face either Rafael Nadal or Mikhail Youzhny in the next round.