Murray might have struggled to find his best form against Somdev Devvarman and Robin Haase - two opponents he had little experience of. But he had clearly been looking forward to playing Lopez, someone whose game he knew inside-out, and whom he had destroyed in their five previous meetings.
Murray finds familiarity reassuring, because it allows him to assemble a game-plan, and he cruised to victory in just under two hours. The scoreline - 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 - reflected a display of rare efficiency. It was even more comprehensive than his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 wins over the same opponent in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
The tone was set inside the first few minutes, as Murray came out and reeled off the first 14 points of the match. After the last of those - a Lopez forehand that sailed long - the fans made a desperate attempt to rouse the underdog. They were at least rewarded with a brief improvement as he cut the deficit to 3-1. But that was to be the only game he won in that first set.
On a cool and breezy night, Lopez barely landed a first serve in the first half-hour. And even when he did, Murray kept them coming back - a legacy, he says, of all those boyhood years he spent returning brother Jamie’s left-handed delivery.
Rather than dropping the power a little, Lopez strained for more and more penetration, with the result that he started sending down double-faults.
Murray, by contrast, put 75 per cent of his first serves in, and did not concede a single point on his serve in the whole of the first set.
Lopez changed his shirt from blue to white at the start of the second set, and lifted his level too. This was the toughest period for Murray, as his opponent started to gamble more and to find the lines with some regularity.
Murray even had to save a couple of break points, as both serves came under pressure. But he stuck to his tactics, which were to keep the ball low, preferably to Lopez’s backhand, and thus make it difficult for the Spaniard to rush the net.
The ninth games was the decisive one, as Murray produced three terrific backhand passes - two down the line and one crosscourt - to break serve and go 5-4 up. He served out for the set, and then Lopez appeared to lose heart, immediately going 2-0 down in the third.
Murray will now play another left-hander - the unproven American Donald Young, who is ranked a mere 84 in the world - in what can only be described as a highly favourable fourth-round draw.
Young did beat Murray in Indian Wells in March, in a match that he rates as the biggest win of his career. But that was during Murray’s period of disillusionment after his near-miss at the Australian Open.
Considering the ease with which he demolished Lopez, you would think that this should be another straightforward tie.
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