Melbourne – Andy Murray smashed a racket in a rare display of frustration after being taken to a fourth set before reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 6-1 6-2 6-7 (6) 6-2 victory over lucky loser Stephane Robert on Monday.
After racing through the first two sets in just over an hour, Wimbledon champion Murray blew a couple of match points in the third and was dragged into a tiebreak by the 33-year-old Frenchman, who won it 8-6.
It was the first set fourth seed Murray had lost in the tournament but, after a change of shirt, he whipped through the fourth set in 28 minutes to seal a quarter-final date against either Roger Federer or Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Robert was the first lucky loser to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park and had won just four main draw matches in 10 previous grand slam appearances. – Reuters