Andy Murray booked his place at the ATP World Tour Finals with an emphatic win over Wimbledon conqueror Grigor Dimitrov at the Paris Masters.
The Briton, who lost in straight sets at Wimbledon, beat the Bulgarian 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
The 27-year-old Scot, seeking to win his fourth title in six weeks, needed to reach the last eight to qualify for the season-ending finals in London.
He will face world number one Novak Djokovic in the last eight on Friday.
That match – to be played at around 18:30 GMT – will be live on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra.
Djokovic needed a second-set tie-break for a 6-3 7-6 (7-2) win over Gael Monfils, which took 92 minutes.
BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller: |
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“Andy Murray has played with purpose, and increasing conviction, in his six week Eurasian tour. The maths were very much against him when he left New York, but in a season of many frustrations, this is a notable achievement. |
“Murray’s other goal was to improve his ranking, and with Stan Wawrinka losing in Paris earlier in the day, his chances of ending the year in the world’s top four are increasing by the day.” |
By contrast, world number eight Murray was in such good form he saw off Dimitrov in 69 minutes – two minutes faster than his second-round win over Julien Benneteau – to secure his 20th win in 22 matches.
Murray said he was pleased with his fitness and conditioning after playing in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Valencia and now Paris in successive weeks.
“It’s been such a long few weeks but I still feel pretty good when I get up in the mornings,” he said.
“It’s not like I’m as fresh as a daisy. I’m fatigued – but I’m match tight. I’m making good decisions on the court, I’m not having any lulls in the matches.
“It wasn’t the easiest position to be in but I had to do it if I wanted to try to finish in the top eight in the world. Thankfully I’ve managed to do it, and my body has held up.”
Murray broke Dimitrov in the third and ninth games to clinch the first set in 33 minutes.
He maintained his standards in the second set and, with Dimitrov struggling to match his quality, wrapped up an impressive victory and qualification for the tour finals for a seventh successive year.
Murray joins Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic in reaching next month’s event at the 02 Arena, with three places still to be decided.
Race to London positions (prior to Paris Masters) | ||
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* Third-placed Rafael Nadal will not play again in 2014 ** Seventh-placed Marin Cilic qualifies as US Open champion |
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5th – 4,295 points |
Andy Murray |
GB |
6th – 4,265 points |
Kei Nishikori |
Jpn |
8th – 4,105 points |
Tomas Berdych |
Cze |
9th – 3,865 points |
David Ferrer |
Spa |
10th – 3,840 points |
Milos Raonic |
Can |
Kei Nishikori, the sixth seed, is one match away from becoming the first Japanese player to reach the finals after his 6-1 4-6 6-4 defeat of home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Nishikori will play fourth seed David Ferrer, who will be guaranteed a place at the O2 if he makes the final in Paris, in the last eight after the Spaniard’s 6-1 6-2 win over compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
Fifth seed Tomas Berdych, who is eighth in the Race to London standings, will guarantee his place at the season finale by making the semi-finals this week.
He edged out Feliciano Lopez 7-5 6-3 and faces South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, who beat third seed Wawrinka 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 7-6 (7-3), in the last eight.
Canada’s Milos Raonic needs to win the title in Paris to reach the finals and the seventh seed saw off Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5 7-6 (9-7) to keep his hopes alive.
He faces Federer in the last eight after the Swiss world number two overcame French qualifier Lucas Pouille 6-4 6-4.
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Source: BBC Sport