Andy Murray Crushes Nick Kyrgios' Hopes of French Revolution
Andy Murray fired 12 aces and 45 winners while Nick Kyrgios was undone by 37 unforced errors. Murray now will face either Belgian 17th seed David Goffin or unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy for a place in the quarter-finals.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: May 30, 2015 05:38 PM IST
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Andy Murray brutally crushed Nick Kyrgios's hopes of shaking up the old order at the French Open Saturday with a straight-sets win to reach the last-16.
Third-seeded Murray, twice a semi-finalist in Paris, cruised to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory, capitalising on the 20-year-old Australian's inconsistency which saw thunderous, flashy winners annulled by silly errors.
Kyrgios, the 29th seed and bidding to add a first French Open last-16 place to his runs to the 2014 Wimbledon and 2015 Australian Open quarter-finals, wasn't helped by requiring a medical timeout for an injury to his right arm late in the second set. (Kuerten, Navratilova to Present French Open Trophies)
Murray, who fired 12 aces and 45 winners while Kyrgios was undone by 37 unforced errors, goes on to face either Belgian 17th seed David Goffin or unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy for a place in the quarter-finals.
It was 28-year-old Murray's third successive win over Kyrgios, all without dropping a set, as he took his record on clay this year to 13-0.
"It was a tough match. Nick really goes for the big shots," said Murray. (Kvitova Powers into Last Sixteen at French Open)
"But I used variety and slice, tried to mix it up to break his rhythm and it seemed to work.
"He wasn't helped by struggling with his arm injury."
After a tight first set, Murray carved out a double break in the second to put himself firmly in the driving seat, his overall court craft and angles exploiting the weaknesses of his opponent.
Despite his bandaged right forearm, Kyrgios broke for a 2-1 lead in the third before surrendering the advantage in the next game.
His frustration caused him to launch a ball out of Court Suzanne Lenglen which led to a warning for a code violation.
Kyrgios's defeat leaves fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, the world number 84 making his debut at the tournament on a wildcard, with the thankless task of upsetting world number one Novak Djokovic on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic, on a 24-match winning streak, has breezed through the first two rounds with his only concern being a nasty fall against Gilles Muller on Thursday which required treatment on his hip.
Victory would give top seed Djokovic a last-16 clash against either Richard Gasquet or Kevin Anderson.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal, chasing a 10th Roland Garros crown, has been equally untroubled so far and he takes on Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov, the world number 120.
Kuznetsov had never won a match at the French Open before this year.
The winner of that clash will face either Jack Sock, the last American man in the draw, or 18-year-old Borna Coric.
World number 46 Coric is looking to become the youngest player to make the fourth round of a major since Marat Safin reached the last-16 in Paris in 1998.
Marin Cilic, the ninth-seeded US Open champion, continued his sedate progress to reach the fourth round for the third time.
The 26-year-old eased past Leonardo Mayer, the Argentine 23rd seed, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and will take on either 2013 runner-up David Ferrer or Simone Bolelli for a quarter-final slot.