Andy Murray swept into the Wimbledon fourth round on Friday, the world number two enjoying a 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 win over Spanish 32nd seed Tommy Robredo.
Murray’s sights are firmly fixed on ending Britain’s 77-year wait for a first male winner of the Wimbledon singles title since Fred Perry and his path to the title is becoming less fraught by the day.
The 26-year-old, who faces Russian 20th seed Mikhail Youzhny or Serbia’s Viktor Troicki for a place in the last eight, hit 40 winners and served nine aces and hasn’t dropped a set in his first three matches.
The tournament had barely started when Rafael Nadal, a potential semi-final opponent for Murray, suffered a stunning opening day defeat. And when Roger Federer, another likely last four foe, was eliminated on Wednesday, the Scot would have been forgiving for pinching himself to check he wasn’t dreaming.
Throw in the injury withdrawals of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marin Cilic and a third round defeat for 15th seed Nicolas Almagro and suddenly only a list of unheralded names stand between Murray and another Wimbledon final.
Murray has enjoyed a remarkable time since last year’s tearful Wimbledon final defeat against Federer, following his Olympic gold medal triumph by defeating Novak Djokovic in the US Open final to finally claim his first Grand Slam crown.
The 26-year-old had reached the final of the last three Grand Slams before the recent French Open, which he was forced to miss with a back injury and few would bet against a fourth successive major final appearance.