Andy Murray defeated Vasek Pospisil 6-4 7-5 6-4 today on Centre Court to book his place in the semi-finals at Wimbledon 2015.
Coming into the match in red hot form that has seen him brush aside most opponents, whilst raising him game in the tougher matches against the likes of Andreas Seppi and Ivo Karlovic, both seeded, Murray was the favourite for victory as he came up against the unseeded Pospisil.
The Canadian has already eliminated a Brit at Wimbledon 2015, beating James Ward in round three, and was looking to take out another home favourite today, though it would be a much tougher task given Murray's superior quality.
Solid first set by the Brit
The world number three didn't take long to break in the match either, with it nine minutes, to be exact, before he took a 2-1 lead and consolidated this with a solid service game that extended his advantage to a more comfortable 3-1.
Moments after this, however, the weather would affect proceedings and force the match into a short break as the rain came down and the covers went on the court. Pospisil had time to regroup during this interval, and came out looking solid when the players resumed play, but he was unable to really threaten Murray much and the single break of serve was enough for the Brit to take the first set 6-4.
The athleticism of both was providing the spectactors with some truly marvellous points in the match, with the fitness, agility and power of each player allowing for extended and entertaining exchanges on Centre Court. The extended points were mainly won by Murray though, with him dominating rallies whilst the Canadian saw more luck in the shorter points.
Tighter in the second but Murray again takes his chance
The second set was extremely tight as both players held serve well throughout and never looked in much danger of being broken. However, the rain would come again to disrupt the encounter as the scores read 4-3 to Pospisil in set two, albeit still on serve.
Another delay of over 30 minutes followed, though a shorter one than the first and one which proved to be the last as the roof went up over Centre Court to prevent any more stoppages.
Neither player seemed fazed by this as they re-entered the court though, as the match picked up where it left off with some very composed service games as we looked destined to enter a tiebreak in this second set.
However, a fruitful few minutes for Murray would give him the break he was searching for, with a love service game completed in 68 seconds being followed up by a great break and then a comfortable serve for a two set lead.
Pospisil certainly needed to think about a plan B now as Murray was returning his serve extremely well and getting the ball back into play where he could take the point.
Pospisil on the ropes as Murray takes the match
Despite the tight nature of set two, set three was much different as Murray constantly threatened to break in Pospisil's shaky service games. He saw two break points in the opening game of the third set, but the Canadian served well under pressure and was able to save the large number of opportunities that Murray saw.
Even when he wasn't seeing these break points, the Brit was threatening a lot, with him getting at least two points on the board in most of his opponent's service games whilst holding his own very well.
The world number three would eventually take one of his many chances in the set at a perfect time though, breaking at 4-4 to take a 5-4 lead, which allowed him the chance to serve for the match. Pospisil didn't let him do so easily, seeing his first break point of the day in what proved to be the final game of the day, but Murray came through and took his second match point to claim victory, the final score reading 6-4 7-5 6-4 in his favour.
Pospisil played very well considering how much time he has spent on court at Wimbledon 2015, but he simply did not threaten Murray enough with this. He played his part in some truly tremendous points and won some fantastically well-earned ones too, but not many of these came when it mattered or allowed him a chance to take the lead in the match.
Murray, on the other hand, put on a solid performance and was consistent throughout to see off the challenge of the Canadian, with his opponent's good performance allowing him to see the Brit off more as opposed to pose questions of him on his serve.
It was a very focused and composed match and a well executed win which allowed Murray to come through in just the three sets, when it really could've gone all the way if a few momentary blips in concentration had occurred.
The third seed will play Roger Federer in the semi-finals, who today beat Gilles Simon 6-3 7-5 6-2 on Court Number One. Federer leads their head-to-head, but only narrowly, having beaten Murray 12 times in comparison to the Brit's 11 victories.