Djokovic’s exit doesn’t make path easy: Murray

Brit, who downed Kyrgios to reach quarter-final, is wary of tough competition at Wimbledon

LONDON: Second seed Andy Murray brushed aside Australia’s Nick Kyrgios to register his 50th Wimbledon match win on Monday and reach his ninth straight quarter-final at the event.

Murray, the 2013 champion, eased to a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win and will face French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals.

Murray, who will be playing in his ninth successive Wimbledon quarter-final, leads Tsonga 12-2 in previous meetings.

Tsonga, the French 12th seed, has made the semi-finals in 2011 and 2012.



He needed just 24 minutes to reach the quarter-finals for the fourth time after compatriot Richard Gasquet quit their fourth round match with a back injury.

“Tsonga is a top grass-court player and I’ll need to play very well to win that one,” said Murray, who is on a 26-match winning streak against French players. “You can learn from the matches that you’ve played against him, see the things that worked well and try to execute that when you play him the next time.”

Murray shrugged off growing expectations that he can win a third major after the shock defeat of top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round.



“Every year I play here it’s the same,” said the 29-year-old. “It’s not any different this year than it’s been any of the other years I’ve been here. I try my best to win my matches.”

Monday’s eagerly-awaited Centre Court clash against the fiery Australian Kyrgios turned into a disappointing affair.

Kyrgios, the 15th seed who defeated Rafael Nadal at the tournament in 2014, didn’t force a break point on the Murray serve as he slipped to his fifth loss in five meetings against the world number two.



He did manage to save two match points in the ninth game of the third set but was powerless to prevent Murray taking victory with an eighth ace of the contest.

“The first set was very tight. I managed to get the break at 6-5 but it was very tight up to that point,” explained Murray, who has yet to drop a set at this year’s Wimbledon.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2016.

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