World No. 1 Andy Murray surged into the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday as he defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-0.
Murray raced through in just 73 minutes, surrendering just eight points on serve and converting five of his nine break points. From 4-2 in the first set, he reeled off eight straight games to beat the Spaniard for the third time in four meetings.
“It was way better than how I played at the beginning of the year, that's for sure,” stated Murray. “Playing aggressive, feeling more solid, when I'm in position to dictate the points, I'm doing it, moving forward.
Watch Full Match Replays“I hit my forehand very well in the last couple of matches. I served better today. It's been a good start. Obviously matches will get tougher, but I'm much happier with how I'm playing.”
The Scot, who revealed this week that he has recovered from shingles since his fourth-round exit at the Australian Open (l. to M. Zverev), is looking for his first ATP World Tour title of the season. Murray opened 2017 with a runner-up showing at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (l. to Djokovic).
The 29-year-old Murray is making his sixth appearance at this ATP World Tour 500 tournament and reached the final in 2012 (l. to Federer). He goes on to face German Philipp Kohlschreiber, whom he leads 4-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
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“It will be tough, because every time we have played we have had a lot of close matches,” said Murray. “I think he likes the conditions here. He's played well here the last few years. He keeps coming back to this event, he obviously likes it here.
“It will be a tricky one, he's a talented guy. He uses the angles of the court well. He plays with a lot of spin. And if you let him dictate the points, he makes you move a lot. So I need to play well."
One day after beating defending champion Stan Wawrinka, Damir Dzumhur booked his spot in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers. The 24 year old from Bosnia-Herzegovina will contest his second ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season after reaching the last eight in Memphis (l. to Harrison). He will face Robin Haase.