Andy Murray is confident he will be able to deal with a partisan crowd when he takes on home favourite Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals of the French Open.
The second seed outclassed John Isner in the fourth round on Sunday, securing a 7-6 6-4 6-3 win in a rain interrupted match on Court Suzanne-Lenglen to book his place in the last eight.
Next up is Frenchman Gasquet, a player who, despite possessing plenty of talent, will be appearing in his first quarter-final in Paris, much to the delight of the home crowd.
It means the atmosphere at Roland Garros on Tuesday is sure to be heavily in favour of the world number 12, who is his country’s sole remaining contender in the men’s singles and will be dreaming of becoming the first Frenchman to win the title since Yannick Noah in 1983.
The scenario will mark somewhat of a turning of the tables for Murray, having had the crowd behind him throughout the years at Wimbledon. He has, however, played against home players before in Paris and is confident he will be able to handle the situation.
“I’m pumped to be in the quarters of a slam,” said the Scot. “Obviously the atmosphere will be tough, but I don’t mind that. I played a number of times against French players here in difficult atmospheres and I managed okay.”
Murray is currently a 1.29 favourite to beat the 3.50 priced Gasquet, with the winner going on to face either defending champion Stan Wawrinka or the unseeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last four.
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