US Open: Andy Murray crushes Grigor Dimitrov in awesome display to move into quarter-finals in New York
Britain's world No 2 dominated his opponent en route to a stunning 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory and will play Kei Nishikori next
ANDY MURRAY ground Grigor Dimitrov into the New York concrete.
Murray’s crushing 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory was, in terms of games lost, his joint most comprehensive against a top 30 player.
The 141mph ace he served to win the opening set was probably his fastest ever.
But forget what the stats say, the performance was a statement in itself.
Yes, if Dimitrov were a football team, he would have lost 10-0 and been lucky to get nil.
But this was the kind of authoritative display which Murray needed to regain the momentum lost in his two previous matches and put his US Open campaign right back on track.
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Murray said: “I played extremely well.
“I served very well when I was behind in games, there were very few unforced errors and I made it very difficult for Grigor.
“I hit a 145 in San Jose once but the next day they recalibrated the speed gun because it was wrong.
“So that was definitely the fastest serve I’ve had. I think it was lucky, I only did it once.”
Dimitrov said he had been overwhelmed by the occasion of playing a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium again and had “run out of fuel, physically and mentally”.
But the No 22 seed from Bulgaria added: “For me, Andy is the best player out there at the moment. He deserves all the credit today.”
After Novak Djokovic’s imperious win over Kyle Edmund, all eyes were on whether Murray could raise his game from the flat, laboured win over Paolo Lorenzi.
And the way he bullied and beat down Dimitrov was even more savage and pitiless than the beating Djokovic had given his fellow Brit.
Murray had to save two break points in the opening game and Dimitrov then held serve with ease.
But after that, the Bulgarian won only four of the next 21 games as his opponent never looked back from breaking serve for the first time.
He did it in typical style, chasing down and getting back a smash and then watching Dimitrov bury the next one in the net.
Murray won eight games in a row, dropped serve for the first time, then immediately restored his double break advantage in the second set.
It must have been totally demoralising for Dimitrov, who was making error after error and seemed to be intimidated into double faults at big moments by the way Murray was jumping inside the baseline to receive.
The Scot played some unbelievable shots, with two astonishing forehands in the game which sealed the second set.
A volley accurately described by a member of the crowd sitting courtside as “insane” brought up the double break at 3-0 in the third set.
Dimitrov needed an act of God and it seemed like it might have arrived when rain began to fall just before he was due to serve for the match.
But nothing could save him from the consequences of his own poor display and the magnificence of Murray.