Australian Open: Murray into the last eight

Straight sets win sends Andy Murray into the last eight of the Australian Open. 

The British number one started the match brightly as he broke Gilles Simon’s serve, but the Frenchman broke straight back. However, it was Murray who was quick to recover the deficit and take advantage of Simon’s exhausted body, as the French player had tough battles in the earlier rounds. 

Murray’s momentum from the first set that he won 6-3 carried into the second where he had a 2-0 lead. The 14^th seed, Simon only managed to win a single game in the second set against the world number three, and two more breaks for Murray meant the Brit was in total control with going into third.

Murray recorded his tenth straight win against Simon after showing some world-class tennis. The US Open Champion excited the crowd in Melbourne, as he crushed Simon’s hopes of progressing any further in the tournament. 

The match finished 6-3 6-1 6-3 and next up for Murray is yet another Frenchman, Jeremy Chardy, who booked his place in the quarters for the first time in his career after seeing off Andreas Seppi of Italy, in a thrilling 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory.

Novak Djokovic also progressed into the quarters with a memorable 1-6 7-5 6-4 6-7 12-10 at the Rod Laver Arena against Stanislas Wawrinka. The epic match concluded after a sublime rally between the two players, and Djokovic’s backhand down the line proved to be the winner, much to the relief of the Serbian.

Umida Ibrahimova, sports correspondent