Andy Murray says his friendship with Davis Cup team-mate Kyle Edmund will not affect his focus when they meet in the quarter-finals of the China Open.

The pair are used to playing alongside each other in the annual tournament for Great Britain but will need to forget their friendship on Friday in Beijing.

Murray booked his place in the last eight with a routine 6-2 6-1 win over Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, while Edmund beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-4 4-6 6-4 to continue his fine form after coming through qualifying.

The top seed in the Chinese capital won their only previous meeting on tour earlier this year, coming through in three sets on his way to victory at Queen’s.

Although he admits it can be difficult facing close friends, Murray is confident both he and Edmund will be able to put their relationship aside for long enough to produce an entertaining match on Friday.

He said: “[On] the day of the match, it’s always a little bit uncomfortable because normally when you see your friends and stuff in the locker room, you have a chat, joke around a bit.

But on match days, it always tends to be a little bit more serious. “Once you get out on the court and start competing, it’s fine. After the match, again, it’s always fine.

But it’s just sort of the couple hours before when you see each other in the locker room, it can be a little bit uncomfortable.”

Murray is the clear 1.05 favourite to beat his compatriot, with Edmund the 8.00 underdog to take the victory.