Murray beats Querrey to move on in the Australian Open

Published 1:30 am Friday, January 20, 2017

MELBOURNE, Australia — Andy Murray steered well clear of the upset fate that befell rival Novak Djokovic as the top seed motored into the fourth round of the Australian Open, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 over Sam Querrey on Friday.

Besides leaving the U.S. without a man in the field after five days of play, the two-hour match also reassured Murray after he rolled his right ankle in the previous round.

“I felt better and better as the match went on,” Murray said. “I was a bit hesitant at first, but my movement got better and I was moving well at the end.”

The No. 1 produced a loose double-fault on a first match point before finishing it off seconds later with a service winner.

“It was a tough match, Sam was hitting a huge ball, especially in the first set,” Murray said.

Murray is trying to end his hard-luck run of five losses in Melbourne finals without once lifting the title.

Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, advanced over Viktor Troicki 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).

“The last part of the breaker was really close,” Wawrinka said. “I was happy to get through and did not have to play a fifth set.”

He next meets Italian Andreas Seppi, a winner over Steve Darcis 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-2).

Roger Federer won his 18th match against Tomas Berdych, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in 90 minutes, and now faces Kei Nishikori, who beat Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“I knew it would be a tough third round, I’m quite happy,” said Federer, who is returning from six months on the sidelines.

“I had no expectations coming here … I’m pleased it went as well as it did. I struggled in the early rounds, today was different. I never looked back, I surprised myself.”

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Jack Sock 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3. Germany’s Alexander Zverev took out Malek Jaziri 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

In the women’s draw, Angelique Kerber set a winning pace as the event hit the midway point, with the defending champion rolling past Kristyna Pliskova 6-4, 6-0.

Kerber has now defeated both members of the tennis twin set, after winning the US Open last September over Pliskova’s sister Karolina, who is ranked fifth to her sibling’s 58th.

Kerber is bidding for a third major title after winning in Melbourne and New York during a breakthrough 2016.

Two-time grand slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded eighth, outlasted former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 5-7, 9-7.

Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upset No. 11 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 while Coco Vandeweghe defeated 2014 semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard, ranked 47th, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

Bouchard is fighting her way out of a two-year slump that saw her ranking plummet. She was up a break in the final set before taking the loss.