adminAndy Murray saw off a fired-up Fernando Verdasco in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the French Open.
The Wimbledon champion came through 6-4 7-5 7-6 (7-3), and will next face Frenchman Gael Monfils tomorrow. There was drama in the third set as Murray conceded a point to a furious Verdasco, only for the Spaniard to break back in the next game.
Murray weathered the storm, however, and won the tie-break to seal victory after two hours and 54 minutes.
“I was trying to play more aggressive today because I knew I was going to be a bit tired in my legs,” said Murray, who was playing for the third day in a row.
“It’s good to win in three sets, and playing against Monfils, I guess on centre court – it’s going to be a great atmosphere and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Murray, 27, improved his record against Verdasco to 10-1 as he again proved to have too much for the 24th seed.
The Briton had come back from two sets down in their last meeting on his way to Wimbledon victory last summer, and the 30-year-old Spaniard might have fancied his chances in their first meeting on clay.
“I was a bit nervous at the end but I am glad I managed to get through.”
In an earlier match, eight-time champion Rafael Nadal brushed aside outclassed Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 yesterday to storm into the French Open quarter-finals.
World No.1 Nadal was at his ruthless, efficient best against the world No.83 who claimed a paltry 15 points off the champion’s serve.
Watched by US rock star Prince, who played a concert in the French capital on Sunday night, Nadal, seeking to become the first man to win five French Opens in a row, needed just 93 minutes to go through to a last-eight showdown with compatriot David Ferrer.
The two men met in last year’s final where Nadal allowed Ferrer just eight games.
Despite his Philippe Chatrier court mauling, 23-year-old Lajovic at least had the consolation of avoiding the worst Roland Garros rout handed out by Nadal.
That unwanted record belongs to Juan Monaco who won just two games in a fourth round loss in 2012.
“Dusan had a great tournament, he had three good wins,” said Nadal, whose record in Paris now stands at 63 wins against just one defeat.
“It’s never easy playing on this Philippe Chatrier court for the first time. I controlled the points from the baseline and I am happy to be into another quarter-final.”
Nadal holds a 21-6 advantage over Ferrer in their career meetings but it was his compatriot who won their most recent clash in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals in April. — BBC Sport
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