Miami, United States, 22 March 2013 | DPA

World No.3 Andy Murray will try to turn up the heat when he faces mercurial rising Australian star Bernard Tomic in the second round of the Sony Open in Miami.

Tomic booked the last 64 showdown with the reigning US Open champion thanks to a 7-5 7-6(3) victory over France’s Marc Gicquel on Stadium court at Crandon Park.

Murray, who trains in Miami in December and buried his Australian Open finals disappointment by putting in more time last month in South Florida with coach Ivan Lendl, won his only previous meeting with Tomic last year in Brisbane.

“I’ll see, obviously, when I play against him. I haven’t seen him play that much outside of Australia the last year or so,” Murray said after enjoying a first-round bye.

“He’s a very, very talented player. He makes it tough for everyone. He’s got a very unorthodox game.”

Tomic defeated Gicquel, 35 years old and ranked 117th in the world, in one hour and 23 minutes, helped by flawless serving that produced 10 aces and no double faults.

Murray is seeded second in Miami behind Novak Djokovic in the absence of Roger Federer, who is training, and Rafael Nadal, who is resting his knees after winning Indian Wells last week in California.

The Scot says just because the multiple Grand Slam champions are out of the mix is no reason for others to let their guard down.

“It’s not every tournament where you have to play against Nadal and Federer. Sometimes they lose early or whatever,” Murray said.

“You need to make sure that you get into a position in the event where you would have to play them, which is normally in the semi-finals or finals. But, for sure, not as difficult if you don’t have two of the best players ever playing in a tournament.”