Murray overcomes poor start to defy both Gasquet and crowd

The key moments came in the ninth game of the second set when the world No 4 saved two break points, and by the time Gasquet won another game he was 5-0 down in the third.

By then Murray was playing superbly and he raced through the fourth set to book a last-eight encounter against in-form Spaniard David Ferrer.

Gasquet may have been on home clay but the weather – cold, windy and with rain in the air – was decidedly Scottish.

Murray conceded the ninth game of the second set was pivotal as he defied the conditions and the hostile crowd. He had been given a taste of what to expect from the Parisian crowd when he was booed onto court, the Scot responding with a grin.

However, the world No 4 faced the genuine wrath of the crowd in the second set when he went 5-4 up and celebrated with a pump of his fist.

Murray said: “That game was very important. He started very well, he went for a lot of shots, took high risks.”

He admitted he adapted far slower of the two to the conditions, saying: “It was damp and wet on the court.

“I was hitting very short at the start and he was dictating play.

“I needed to be a bit more patient, which I was at the end of the second set.”

Murray and Gasquet have met three times in grand slams before, twice at Wimbledon and once in Paris, and on two occasions the Scot has fought back from two sets to love down to win.

But Murray looked keen to stamp his authority on the match at the start of the third to avoid the need of going the full distance on this occasion.

Some great retrieving earned its rewards, Gasquet framing a smash to concede a break point, and for a second successive service game he ended it with a double fault.

That was a fourth successive game for Murray, who suddenly looked completely in control and wasted no time in wrapping up the set with an ace.

Gasquet badly needed a good start to the fourth set, and he celebrated exuberantly when he came through a close service game.

But he was making a lot more errors than winners and Murray broke again in the third game with a backhand return drilled right onto the sideline.

The Scot virtually skipped back to his chair and nailed a forehand winner to break again at the next opportunity.

Gasquet had a final flourish, saving two match points to deny Murray a sixth game in a row as the crowd tried their best to help their man, but it was in all vain as Murray served it out in two and a half hours.

The Briton will next face Ferrer and he knows he is in for a very tough game against a clay-court specialist.

“We’ve had some great matches. I’ve known him since I was a young kid, he is an unbelievable talent,” he said.

“Every time I play against him I expect a very tough match. I’ll have to play really well to win.”

Paris round-up: Page 23.