Bulgarian Dimitrov had ended Murray’s title defence at Wimbledon in 2014 and came out on top in their last meeting earlier this season in Miami but the second-seeded Scot was firing on all cylinders this time round.
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The No. 5-seeded Halep then saved seven break points in the second game of the second set, and broke Williams in the very next game to lead 2-1.
He clinched the match when Dimitrov slammed a forehand into the tramlines.
The Scotsman, who beat Juan Martin Del Potro in last month’s Olympic Games final, previously tasted victory at Flushing Meadows in 2012. “I played a really good match against him in Rio a few weeks ago so it will be hard”. “I think it’s very significant, actually”.
“Grigor played his best but I didn’t really give him a chance to get into the match”.
“I enjoy it here”, Murray said.
I would have thought that the anticipation of a tough challenge from a Dimitrov coming back to somewhere closer to his best form now will sharpen Murray up a bit, but there isn’t that much between them on their past clashes.
Speaking of Connors, 37-year-old Ivo Karlovic is the oldest man to make the round of 16 at a major since that magical 1991 run.
Federer has 307 and can’t increase that total until next season, because he is sitting out the U.S. Open and the rest of 2016 because of problems with his surgically repaired left knee.
“I feel like when I’m on the court with them, I really want to work hard and show that this is what you have to do”, the world number two added.
Murray was a class above against fellow seed Grigor Dimitrov, cruising to a 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium in NY.
Tomorrow’s other quarter-final sees 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro, ranked at 142 but on the comeback trail after three wrist surgeries, tackle third seed Stan Wawrinka, a former Australian and French Open victor. “Excited to play against him and hopefully I can keep going here”.
He played well, certainly, but also faced little resistance from No. 22 Dimitrov, who had accumulated 23 unforced errors and only two winners by the time he trailed 3-0 in the second set. “But for both of us I think it’s going to be important to try to dictate and be aggressive on the court”.
Things should get tougher for Murray, with No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori looming in the quarterfinals.
Speaking about his next opponent, Kei Nishikori, he said, ‘I have played well against him in the past. Late in the first set Monday, it started getting worse.
You can certainly hit winners on it and Delpo has been playing some great stuff, but while I expect the Argentine to come through in the end I see him as short at [1.4]. Del Potro has played just 10-plus sets through four rounds.
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He lost to No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Australian Open in January and French Open in June, before winning Wimbledon for the second time in July.
