The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsAndy Murray has reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon as the Brit saw off Nick Kyrgios 7-5 6-1 6-4. The Australian proved to be a tough prospect early on as the contest was tight, but once Murray edged the first set he dominated the contest thereafter and capitalised on his opponent’s lack of concentration at times to seal a efficient straight sets win.
In the opening set, both players were dominant on serve throughout, as the impressive displays of power and finesse from Murray and Kyrgios meant the contest, as expected, was very close. However, with a tie-break seemingly looming, the Brit crafted set points at 6-5 up and even though Kyrgios saved two of them with massive serving, Murray converted on his third opportunity to take the set when the Australian netted a volley.
As the second set unfolded, Murray seized an early break, enticing his opponent to come forward at the net before firing a low passing shot that Kyrgios couldn’t handle. The world number two quickly consolidated it for a 4-1 lead, before punishing his opponent ruthlessly for a mental lapse to establish the double break. Kyrgios had dropped off in his concentration whilst Murray kept his focus and remained solid on serve, closing out the set in the following game with an ace to open up a two set lead.
In the third set, Kyrgios was under early pressure at 1-1, and Murray’s consistency as well as variety of shot-making was simply too much for the Australian, as the world number two clinched the break with a forehand winner en route to establishing a 3-1 advantage. The Brit was unrelenting as he continued to cruise through own his service games and even though Kyrgios saved a match point at 5-3 down before forcing his opponent to serve for the match, Murray comfortably wrapped up the victory with an ace to book his place in the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, Murray will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the former semi-finalist went through when his countryman Richard Gasquet pulled out mid-way during the match with a back injury. Also, Jiri Vesely saved match points to eventually extend his encounter with Tomas Berdych into a fifth set before play was suspended due to bad light, as Lucas Pouille awaits the winner after the Frenchman upset Bernard Tomic in five sets.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer swept past Steve Johnson 6-2 6-3 7-5 and the seven time SW19 champion will play Marin Cilic next, as the Croat was leading Kei Nishikori 6-1 5-1 when Nishikori retired with an injury. In addition, Sam Querry followed up his stunning victory over Novak Djokovic with a straight sets win over Nicolas Mahut, and the American will face Milos Raonic, who fought back from two sets down to overcome David Goffin 4-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams beat Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 6-0 and will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova next, as Venus Williams, Angelique Kerber and Simona Halep all moved into the quarter-finals. Also, Dominika Cibulkova progressed in one of the matches of the tournament, completing a dramatic 6-3 5-7 9-7 win over Agnieszka Radwanska.
