MELBOURNE: Andy Murray enjoyed one of the easiest Grand Slam wins of his career in reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open against Gilles Simon today, reported Reuters.
Murray was a 6-3 6-1 6-3 victor over the Frenchman, who endured a marathon five-set battle against countryman Gael Monfils on Saturday and gave himself little chance of progressing against the Scot beforehand.
And it did indeed prove something of a non-contest. Simon saw the funny side while his aching muscles were massaged courtside, but he must be feeling disconsolate after Murray played him all over the court in ruthless fashion.
The third seed will face unseeded Jeremy Chardy in the last eight as the Frenchman earlier beat Andreas Seppi of Italy, also on Hisense Arena. Chardy's brilliant run at Melbourne Park continued with a 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over the 21st seed.
"Normally I always play bad in Australia," a thrilled Chardy, who stunned sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro in the previous round, said courtside.
"It's the first time I've played good in Melbourne, so I am happy."
With Jo-Wilfried Tsonga blasting past compatriot Richard Gasquet, France has two players in the men's quarter-finals at Melbourne Park, last achieved in 2009.
The chances of having three seemed grim, with Simon describing himself as "a wreck" after a match on Saturday which contained a 71-shot rally.
He was broken in the first game of his last-16 match as Murray kept the ball in play, with one rally lasting for 25 strokes.
Simon broke straight back as he attacked the net in an attempt to force an earlier end to the rallies.
However Murray moved back ahead in the third game, setting up his break chance with a drop shot which a fully-fit Simon would have easily reached. The first set then went with serve until Murray broke to finish it off.
Simon was left exhausted as Murray punished him at the start of the second set in going two games up. However the Briton's lax groundstrokes from 30-0 up in game three saw Simon break back.
It would be the only game Simon won in the stanza as Murray sharpened up to dominate each game.
Murray looked comfortable in the final set, taking the break he needed in the third game and preserving his energy as Simon struggled to match him shot for shot.
Murray lamented the ease of the victory despite it taking him to within three wins of back-to-back Grand Slam titles.
"It was kind of tough, a tough situation for both players - more obviously for him," said the US Open champion said.
"After the first few games, it didn't feel like that competitive. At this stage of a Grand Slam you're sort of geed up and prepared for a tough battle.
"That's why it becomes hard because the emotions aren't quite into it. You're not quite necessarily feeling pressure, but you're wanting to try to finish the match as quickly as possible."
Although he was not stretched by Simon, Murray was thankful that he was at least spared the sort of energy-sapping encounter that Novak Djokovic experienced in his five-hour match against Stan Wawrinka on Sunday.
"(Simon) got tested very hard in his last round and couldn't compete today (so) you can look at it both ways," said Murray.
"You just got to work hard on the days off, practise all the things that you need to do better, hope that when the time comes that when you're tested you play better.
"But I think this week, the first few matches... I think almost every single time when I've been broken, I've broken straight back, which is a good sign. Hope I can keep that up."
The curse of the difficult second album is a well known phenomenon in rock music, where bands invest sometimes years of effort into a successful first release and then struggle to produce enough quality material to back it up with their second.
Grand Slam titles have proved equally difficult to replicate for first-time winners and Murray is bidding to become the only player in the open era to immediately follow his maiden title with another at the next major.
To achieve the feat, he is likely to have to beat Roger Federer in the semi-finals and then overcome Djokovic in the final.
He is bidding to secure a fourth successive semi-final berth at Melbourne Park, with his last two campaigns ending in defeats to world number one Djokovic.
First, though, he must see off another French challenger in Chardy, who won their meeting in Cincinnati last year for his first victory over the Briton.
Simon thought his compatriot might again prove a difficult obstacle for Murray to negotiate.
"Jeremy's very aggressive, he has a huge serve, huge forehand. He's able to hit winners at any moment," said Simon.
"It's gonna be interesting to see the beginning of the match, because if Jeremy manages to win maybe the first set, then I think anything can happen."
- mD
