World number one Andy Murray booked his place in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. The Brit will face off against Philipp Kohlschreiber for a place in the semifinals.
Garcia-Lopez played well in the opener but only earned two games to show for it. The world number one started slowly but then dictated with aggressive tactics bringing him through the mini-battles and giving him the tough opening set with the deceptive scoreline of 6-2. Murray then took complete control as he dictated on serve, with the loss of only one point in the set, and bullied the Spaniard on return to cruise through the second set with a bagel.
Murray in control
Murray fired down an ace to begin the match. It wasn't all smooth sailing in the game for the Brit as Garcia-Lopez battled to earn a look at a break point. The world number one struck a perfect crosscourt backhand to erase the danger and eventually came through the tight opening game. Five game points came and went for Garcia-Lopez in the next game as outstanding defense and aggressive play from Murray made life difficult for his opponent. A break point for the Brit arrived with a double fault from Garcia-Lopez but the Spaniard continued battling and came through another brutal first service game to level the pair. A much easier hold followed for Murray as he sealed the hold with his second ace of the match.
Garcia-Lopez struck an incredible backhand winner from outside the tramlines but a couple of loose errors followed and Murray took advantage. The Brit stayed aggressive to take the first break of the match and lead 3-1. A huge forehand into the corner allowed Murray to close down the net and finish off the crucial point at 30-30 on serve to earn a game point, coming through the game with another winner to extend his lead.
Murray's intensity on return dipped, allowing Garcia-Lopez to hold easily and end the Brit's run of games at three in a row. A comfortable hold followed for Murray with more impressive net play giving him the advantage and forcing the Spaniard to serve to stay in the set. The second double fault of the game from Garcia-Lopez gave Murray a set point but an error from the Brit erased it to bring the pair to deuce. Another error, from the Spaniard this time, gave Murray a second opportunity to close out the opener but the Brit sent a backhand long to take them to deuce again. A game point for the Spaniard came and went as some incredible defending gave Murray a third opportunity to take the set. This time the Brit fired a great return and forced the error from his opponent to secure the first set 6-2.
Racing into the quarterfinals
The world number one cruised through the first love hold of the match to begin the second set. Murray extended his run of games to four as he broke the Spaniard's serve again to take a 2-0 lead. The Brit kept his momentum rolling with another simple hold to love, taking his ninth straight point on serve as he did so. There looked to be no way back for Garcia-Lopez as some outstanding returning from Murray gave him the lead on return again. A desperate drop shot from the Spaniard was easily taken care of by the Brit as he came through another return game to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
Garcia-Lopez got his first point on the Murray serve in the second set as the run of points ended at 13, but that was the only one he was allowed in the game as the world number one put away a backhand drop volley to race away with a 5-0 lead. A double fault followed by a stunning backhand crosscourt return winner from the Brit took Murray two points away from the Bagel. Garcia-Lopez struck a couple of great winners on his way to earning a game point but another double fault left them locked at deuce. A huge forehand winner down the line from Murray brought up a match point but a smash winner from the Spaniard sent them to deuce again. Another great return from Murray seen him earn a second chance to close it out, with an error from the Spaniard then giving the Brit a bagel set and a place in the quarterfinals.