Murray eases beyond Bogomolov’s challenge

Andy Murray came through a challenging match with Alex Bogomolov Jr to claim his place in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The fourth seed looked on course for an easy win after racing ahead in the opening set, but was pushed much harder by his American opponent in the second before wrapping up a 6-2 7-5 victory.

Murray had to overcome a difficult start in his second-round meeting with David Nalbandian on Wednesday before recording a straight-sets victory.

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But there were few signs of nerves from the Scot yesterday as he took the opening three games against the world No 50.

Murray then faced two break points in the next but brushed off the threat with some powerful winning forehands and an ace to take a 4-0 lead in the match.

Bogomolov Jr finally got himself on the board in game five but Murray eventually served for the set, wrapping it up with another unreturnable shot.

The 28-year-old American had won their only previous meeting in Miami earlier this year, but was struggling to find any rhythm in Cincinnati and was broken again at the start of the second set.

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Murray’s concentration then wavered in the next game allowing Bogomolov Jr to level, but the Scot was gifted another break and a 2-1 lead following a double fault from his opponent.

The world No 4 four failed to make the most of his advantage, though, and allowed Bogomolov Jr to break back in game eight with a weak shot into the net.

Murray continued to dig deep as the set wore on and was rewarded in the 11th game with his fifth break of the contest thanks to a winning return.

That left him serving for the match, and he secured victory in one hour and 41 minutes with an ace.

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Murray will face either David Ferrer or Gilles Simon in the last eight.

Murray had admitted he struggled early on in his match with Nalbandian as he looks to get in the maximum match practice ahead of the US Open which starts in less than a fortnight.

Murray said: “I felt tight early on. Obviously I want to start playing my best tennis but the most important thing right now is to try and get as many matches as possible before the US Open.

“I didn’t want to have another first-round loss.

“I stayed calmer towards the end of the first set when I started to move a little bit better but earlier on I was definitely tight and that is something I’m trying to work on and stay a little bit more composed. That also comes with playing more matches and hopefully I’ll get a few more this week.”

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