US Open 2016: Andy Murray sweeps past Grigor Dimitrov to reach last eight
| US Open |
|---|
| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: 29 August-11 September |
| Coverage: Live commentary on Radio 5 live sports extra plus live text on the big matches on the BBC Sport website and app. |
Britain’s Andy Murray dropped only five games as he thrashed Bulgarian 22nd seed Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarter-finals at the US Open.
Murray, the second seed, won 6-1 6-2 6-2 and goes on to face Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori in the last eight.
The Scot, 29, was below his best against Paolo Lorenzi in the previous round but superb against Dimitrov.
Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka will meet in the other quarter-final in Murray’s half of the draw.
Swiss third seed Wawrinka saw off Ukraine’s Illya Marchenko 6-4 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3, while Argentina’s 2009 champion Del Potro led Dominic Thiem 6-3 3-2 when the Austrian retired with a knee injury.
Nishikori was impressive in a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic.
In the men’s doubles, Jamie Murray and Brazil’s Bruno Soares beat Brian Baker and Marcus Daniell 6-3 7-6 (9-7) to reach the last eight.
| US Open men’s quarter-finals | |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic (Ser) [1] v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) [9] | Juan Martin del Potro (Arg) v Stan Wawrinka (Swi) [3] |
| Lucas Pouille (Fra) [24] v Gael Monfils (Fra) [10] | Kei Nishikori (Jpn) [6] v Andy Murray (GB) [2] |
Fired-up Murray lays down a marker
Dimitrov had won their only meeting this year in Miami and came into the match talking of a return to form, but he troubled Murray for barely a handful of points.
The Bulgarian capitalised on some second serves to earn two break points in the opening game but could do nothing about two big Murray serves.
For the next 50 minutes it was one-way traffic, Murray setting the tone in a pulsating 32-stroke rally as he broke serve for 3-1 and went on an eight-game winning streak.
With serves regularly nudging the 140mph mark backed up by thunderous groundstrokes, Murray surged into a 6-1 3-0 lead, and even when Dimitrov finally stopped the rot with a service break, he returned it immediately with a double fault.
There was no respite for Dimitrov in the third set, which began with Murray winning another gruelling rally on his way to an early break and saving two break points with more huge serving.
Despite his utter dominance, the Scot remained fired up and continued to urge himself on, fizzing a spectacular running cross-court forehand winner past Dimitrov to break for the seventh time.
With just one game required, Murray still found time to argue with umpire Carlos Ramos at the changeover about spectators moving between points, while a brief rain shower passed overhead.
Nothing was going to distract Murray, however, and after a brief delay he came out to complete the demolition job in just over two hours.
141mph ‘is the fastest serve I’ve hit’
Murray’s first-serve percentage was an underwhelming 53% against Dimitrov – but the pace on show was a notable step up for the Wimbledon champion.
His fastest serve of the night clocked 141mph, which appears to be his quickest ever as the Grand Slam facilities allow for more accurate measurement than at other tournaments.
“I served one at 145 in San Jose [in 2007] and the next day they recalibrated the gun because it was completely wrong,” said Murray.
“Tonight is the fastest serve I’ve hit. I only did it once – I think it was luck.”