Andy Murray avenges Wimbledon defeat

Andy Murray moved into the Australian Open quarter-finals with a thrilling four-set victory over 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov.

Dimitrov beat the Scot in straight sets at Wimbledon in 2014 but Murray proved too strong for the Bulgarian in Melbourne.

Murray appeared sluggish in the early stages as he slipped 3-0 behind but he then won six of the next seven games to claim the opening set 6-4.

The 27-year-old had a chance to move 2-0 up when serving for the second set at 6-5, but Dimitrov broke back with the help of a Murray double fault before winning a tie break to level the scores.

Murray saw four break points come and go in the fourth game of the third set but he did manage to get a break in the eighth game, before serving out the set 6-3.

The match seemed set to be taken into a decider as Dimitrov moved into a 5-2 lead but Murray won the next five games in a row to complete a
6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-5 victory in just over three and a half hours.

Murray admitted he was lucky at times against the 23-year-old world number 11.

Speaking on court after the tie, he said: “I did get quite lucky in the end, a few net cords went my way and that was the difference.

“A lot of the games were close with the momentum switching back and forth and once I got it I just tried to keep it going.”

Murray will face unseeded Australian Nick Kyrgios in the last eight, with a showdown with either Rafael Nadal or Tomas Berdych to come in the semi-finals should he overcome the 19-year-old home favourite.

Three-time finalist Murray is 6.00 to win the Australian Open
outright, while defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka is available at 13.00.