TENNIS in DEPTH.

Andy Murray moved into the semi-finals of the Australian Open by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov in four sets – and he won’t have to play Rafael Nadal in the last four. The British number one looked a touch vulnerable when he dropped his first set of the tournament but found another gear when it mattered to come through 7-5 6-3 6-7 (3/7) 6-3 in three hours and six minutes. He had been expected to meet Nadal in the semi-finals, but the world number one was clearly injured as he slumped to a straight-sets defeat to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. However, Murray is still likely to have to up his level considerably if he is to prevail against Ferrer after a display against Dolgopolov which was inconsistent at best.

“It was very tough,” Murray said afterwards. “Every point against him is different, he hits the ball differently to everyone else, it’s tough to explain. “I struggled with my rhythm early on and he came back in the third set but I thought I did well enough.”

Dolgopolov, the world number 46 who beat seeds Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Robin Soderling in his previous two matches, had numerous opportunities to take a grip on the match but too often let Murray off the hook with moments of carelessness, a trait he will have to eradicate is he is to make the most of his undoubted potential.

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Andy Murray coasted into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a straight-sets defeat of 11th seed Jurgen Melzer. Melzer was expected to provide Murray with his first serious test of the tournament, but proved no match for the Scot, who has yet to drop a set in Melbourne as he bids to land his first grand slam title. Murray produced a mature, controlled performance to win 6-3 6-1 6-1 in one hour and 44 minutes, contrasting sharply with that offered by Melzer, the Austrian spraying the ball all over Rod Laver Arena as his all-or-nothing game was woefully exposed. Murray, the world number five, will meet Alexandr Dolgopolov in the last eight after the Ukrainian stunned fourth seed Robin Soderling in a five-set thriller. And the 23-year-old admitted he was surprised by the ease of his win. “Yeah, he had a good year on tour last year, I was surprised but I played a great match,” Murray said. However, Murray accepts it is likely to get tougher against emerging star Dolgopolov.

“I have known him quite a while and played him when we were young in Davis Cup. He is unorthodox but is a tough player,” added Murray, who was watched by mum Judy after she missed the clash with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Saturday.

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Alexandr Dolgopolov avenged his five-set loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon last year with a 3-6 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1 win. The latter opened the match with a regulation first set but cracks began to appear mid-way through the second with Tsonga spraying a series of balls off line and Dolgopolov was ready to take advantage. “I could see he’s pretty tired,” he said. “His physical form is not probably the best now… I had to hold on and play consistent, try to make him more tired. On the baseline he’s really solid; today it paid off that I played more consistently and made less unforced errors.” Tsonga said: “He was better than me, that’s it. He played a better match and was more consistent than me.”

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