Tennis: Murray and Nadal Advance in China

British number one Andy Murray saw off Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open on Thursday.

The 6th seed earned 73 per cent of points on his first serve and broke 5 times on his opponents’ serve to seal a 6-2 6-2 win in an hour and 19 minutes.

The Scot faces US Open champion Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals, after the 4th seed Croat dismissed Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3 6-3.

Returnee Rafael Nadal continued to gather steam in his bid for an ATP World Tour final appearance with a 6-3 6-4 win over qualifier Peter Gojowcyk.

Nadal is contesting his first tournament in 13 weeks and has a 14-2 record in Beijing. He is seeking for the 65th trophy of his career and a fifth title of 2014.

Andy Murray Reaches China Open Last 8. Image: Getty.
Andy Murray Reaches China Open Last 8. Image: Getty.

Czech’s Tomas Berdych beat Victor Troicki 6-3 6-4. The 3rd seed, who will now face 8th seed American John Isner in the last 8, moved up to No. 7 in the race to the 2014 ATP Tour final in London.

Grigor Dimitrov saved six of nine break points to beat Spain’s Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4. The Bulgarian will face top seed Novak Djokovic, who has 21-0 winning streak in Beijing, in the last 8.

“[Novak] has always played well here,” the fifth seed said. “At the same time I like my chances. I’ve been practising well. I had a good block before the last bit of the season. In a way I’m excited to just come out there and play that match. Of course… I’m going to give my all.”

Seventh seed Ernest Gulbis retired due to a right shoulder injury after 55 minutes of play against Slovakia’s Martin Klizan with the latter leading the Latvian 6-2 3-0.