Murray in hurry into Dubai quarter finals

Andy Murray scored his most one-sided victory for eight months and his easiest win over a top 50 player for nearly six years when he trounced Joao Sousa, the Portuguese number one, 6-0, 6-2.

His rapid fire win on Wednesday books a place in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Open.

It lasted less than an hour and confirmed the impression that the former Wimbledon and US Open champion is a far fitter and more confident player now than at any time during 2014, and capable once again of winning big titles.

Murray served more consistently than in his opening match, applied consistent pressure whilst playing within himself, and had the match completely under control from the moment he broke serve early in the second set.

The unfortunate Sousa, ranked 50, was increasingly rattled into more errors, and did not get on to the scoreboard until the ninth game after which he very briefly showed glimpses of the form which once took him inside the top 40.

“Today I thought I just picked the right shots and played the right way when he was struggling,” Murray said.

“I didn’t give him any free points. I didn’t make, you know, just sort of needless errors.

“You know, I wasn’t just going for shots just because I was up 4-0. I thought I made good decisions and didn’t give him anything for free, and he was getting more frustrated because he couldn’t get any free points and then was going for more and more shots and obviously making more errors because of it.”

Murray suggested that last year’s modest form had been partly due to the loss of his coach Ivan Lendl, the former French Open champion, as well as his protracted recovery from a back operation.

“My game, I think, suffered a little bit because of that, as well,” he said.

“You know, now I feel like, you know, I’m heading in the right direction again. I feel like my body is good, which is obviously a big part of it.

“I think when you feel physically strong, I do think that makes you a bit stronger mentally, as well.”

Murray thus looks a good bet for a semi-final place, where the seedings say he should face Roger Federer, a six-time former champion.

Stay up to date with the latest sports news
Follow our social accounts to get exclusive content and all the latest sporting news!