Shining knight Murray spurs maiden title bid; Vintage Federer floors Berdych

Andy Murray saw off giant-killer Sam Querrey on Friday as he ramped up his bid for a first Australian Open title after the shock departure of six-time champion Novak Djokovic.
On a cool day in Melbourne, the men’s No.1 and women’s top seed Angelique Kerber both hit a hot patch of form as the final rounds beckoned.
Murray will have watched from the sidelines as second seed Djokovic, his conqueror in four Melbourne finals, suffered a stunning defeat to 117th-ranked Denis Istomin on Thursday.
Querrey also upset Djokovic at Wimbledon last year but Murray, made a knight in Britain’s New Year honors, never looked like slipping on any banana skins in round three.
He put Querrey away 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in just under two hours, winning 77 percent of points on his first serve and facing only three break points in a clinical display.
The Scot also showed no signs of discomfort in his right ankle, after he rolled it painfully during his second-round win over Andrey Rublev.
“I felt better and better as the match went on in terms of my movement,” he said. “The ankle was a little sore and I was a little tentative at the start but it got better and better through the match.”
Next up for Murray is an assignment with Mischa Zverev, the elder brother of highly-rated German teen Alexander who came through in four sets against Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri.
Swiss marvel Roger Federer blitzed long-time rival Tomas Berdych in straight sets to storm into the fourth round with a vintage performance on Friday.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion, seeded 17th after an injury-hit 2016, downed the 10th-seeded Czech 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, in just 90 minutes.
Federer reached the round of 16 in Melbourne for the 15th time where he will face Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori.
“From the baseline, honestly I felt worlds better than in the first couple of rounds. Yeah, it’s wonderful. I’m really happy, yeah, of course,” Federer said.
“I’m sure I’ve done some sort of a performance like this (before). When you don’t get broken, you don’t have to save any break points, you’re always in the lead, it’s always easier to play.”
Stan Wawrinka, the 2014 champion, survived a four-set tussle with Viktor Troicki 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) and now faces Italy’s Andreas Seppi, who ousted Steve Darcis of Belgium.
Former finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also came through in four sets against American Jack Sock and will play Briton Dan Evans, who beat Australia’s Bernard Tomic 7-5, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3).
In the women’s draw, Kerber finally got into her stride with a 6-0, 6-4 destruction of Kristyna Pliskova, the 58th-ranked twin sister of Czech fifth seed Karolina.
The German defending champion was an early loser at both of her warm-up tournaments and was taken to three sets in unconvincing wins in round one and two.
But Kerber clicked into gear against Pliskova, winning in just 55 minutes to set up a last-16 clash with America’s Coco Vandeweghe, who ousted Canadian starlet Eugenie Bouchard.
“I’m looking forward to the next one. Yeah, I think that I find my rhythm to the tournament now,” Kerber said.
Svetlana Kuznetsova outlasted fellow veteran Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 5-7, 9-7 and will next play fellow Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Venus Williams beat Duan Yingying 6-1, 6-0 to end Chinese involvement, earning a fourth-round match against German qualifier Mona Barthel, who overcame Australia’s Ashleigh Barty in three sets.
Garbine Muguruza gained revenge for a tough loss last year and a place in the Australian Open last 16 with a comprehensive victory over Anastasija Sevastova on Friday.
The French Open champion was broken first up but she quickly recovered from the slow start to overwhelm the Latvian 6-4, 6-2 in 64 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.
The Spanish seventh seed was upset in round two of last year’s US Open by 33rd-ranked Sevastova and she was delighted to get her own back in Melbourne.
“I came knowing that the last time we played in a Grand Slam she beat me, so I was super-motivated,” Muguruza said. “I wanted revenge, so I think that helped.”
Muguruza, who has never gone beyond the Australian Open fourth round, next plays Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, who beat Alison Riske of the United States.

Source :Arab News