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Andy Murray is through to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon as the world number one defeated Benoit Paire 7-6 6-4 6-4. The Brit was very solid throughout the encounter and especially in the crucial moments of each set, as he remains on course to defending his title.
Paire twice led the opening set with a break as his aggressive tennis was unsettling Murray, but the world number one dug in to eventually restore parity. A tie-break was needed but the Frenchman’s erratic play saw Murray dominate it, comfortably wrapping up the set.
The second set saw both players trade breaks as the Brit at times was inconsistent, yet he did enough to break again and leave himself serving for the set at 5-4 up. Despite the Frenchman creating several opportunities to hit back, Murray held firm before securing a two set lead.
Both players held serve easily in the third as Paire had displayed some magnificent tennis at times but the world number one gained the decisive breakthrough once again at 4-4, before confidently closing out victory.
Murray will face Sam Querry in the next round, as the American won a five set battle against Kevin Anderson.
There was also further British success on the women’s side as Johanna Konta secured a hard-fought 7-6 4-6 6-4 win over Caroline Garcia. Konta will next take on Simona Halep, after the Romanian saw off Victoria Azarenka.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer swept aside Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-2 6-4 to join Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals. However, Gilles Muller outlasted Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-4 3-6 4-6 15-13 in what was an epic contest that saw Muller eventually convert his fifth match point. Novak Djokovic though will have to play his fourth round match against Adrian Mannarino tomorrow.
In the other ladies singles matches, Garbine Muguruza recovered from a set down to top Angelique Kerber 4-6 6-4 6-4, as Svetlana Kuznetsova and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko both registered straight set wins. Venus Williams is also through to the quarter-finals after easing past Ana Konjur 6-3 6-2 and Coco Vandeweghe eliminated Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.
