Andy Murray was a man in a hurry here last night as the world No 2 hit the fastest serve of his career during a crushing 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round of the US Open.
Murray put aside the memory of his laboured victory over Paolo Lorenzi two days earlier to rediscover his best form and secure a quarter-final meeting tomorrow with Japan’s Kei Nishikori, who took only five games off the Scot when they met in the Olympic semi-finals last month.
En route to his two-hour victory Murray hammered an ace timed at 141mph, beating his previous quickest serve of 138mph, which he hit here eight years ago. “That is definitely the fastest serve I’ve hit,” Murray said afterwards. “It was lucky. I only did it once and don’t expect to do it again.”
Dimitrov had been in improved form of late after a moderate run earlier in the year, but the 24-year-old Bulgarian was swept off court by a stunning display of aggressive hitting by Murray, who broke serve seven times.
“I played very well,” Murray said. “Tactically I played a very good match. I don’t think I made many mistakes there. I kept good concentration throughout. I don’t think Grigor played his best, but I didn’t really give him a chance to get into the match.”
Dimitrov said he had “run out of fuel both physically and mentally” but added: “Andy right now is the best player out there. He deserves all the credit.”
Murray or Nishikori will face Stan Wawrinka or Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals. The first quarter-finals take place today, with Novak Djokovic facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils taking on Lucas Pouille.
"Tonight's was the fastest serve I've hit. The other one was here at the US Open, 138. I think it was lucky. I only did it once. I'm not expecting to do it again."
<p>Andy Murray</p>
Serena Williams reached the quarter-finals of her home Grand Slam tournament for the ninth time in a row by beating Yaroslava Shvedova 6-2 6-3. The win took Williams past Roger Federer’s Open era record of 307 victories in Grand Slam matches.
