Olympic champion Andy Murray advanced to the last eight at the US Open while World No. 1 Roger Federer reached his 34th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final on Monday without touching a racquet. British third seed Murray, seeking his first Grand Slam title after four runner-up finishes, defeated Canadian 15th seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 25-year-old Scotsman, who reached his eighth Grand Slam quarter-final in a row, will play for a semi-final berth against Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic, who beat Slovakian Martin Klizan 7-5, 6-4, 6-0. Murray is 6-1 lifetime against Cilic but the only loss came in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open.
“Tough match. He’s a tough player,” Murray said. “He works extremely hard. He has a solid game. I will have to work extremely hard to beat him.” Top seed Federer, seeking an unprecedented 18th Grand Slam title and record sixth US Open crown, advanced by walkover when American Mardy Fish withdrew from their match over health concerns.
“I am really sorry for Mardy,” Federer said. “I just want to wish him a speedy recovery. We all want to see him back on tour soon.” Federer has earned 38 career quarter-final Grand Slam appearances, three shy of the Open-era record 41 achieved by American Jimmy Connors.
The 31-year-old Swiss star reached a last-eight matchup with Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1. Berdych has lost 11 of 15 career meetings to top seed Federer. “It will be a tough match against Tomas,” Federer said. “We have played many times in the past and he has always been a tough opponent. I will have to continue to serve well and dictate the points.”
Murray broke Raonic with a drop volley winner for a 5-4 lead and held to take the first set after 36 minutes. In the second set, Murray broke for a 3-2 edge when Raonic netted a forehand and held serve from there to seize command.
Raonic, trying to become the first Canadian man in a Grand Slam last eight in the Open era, surrendered breaks in the third and fifth games of the final set. Murray, who never faced a break point, held serve to end matters after two hours with a service winner. “I used a lot of variation,” Murray said. “Milos has a huge game, massive serves. I guessed right a couple times, got lucky and was able to hit a few passing shots on him.
Murray looks to learn from Lendl: Andy Murray believes coach Ivan Lendl’s bittersweet relationship with the US Open could help him unlock the door to lifting his first Grand Slam title. Murray reached his eighth successive quarter-final at a major on Monday with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic as he continued his campaign to end his record of four Grand Slam finals without a trophy. Lendl, who started to work with the US Open’s third seed at the start of this year, lost three finals in New York from 1982-1984 until clinching three titles in a row from 1985-1987.
