Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych advance to Dubai Tennis Championships quarter-finals

DUBAI // Andy Murray started with a bagel and Tomas Berdych finished with one.

But that was the only similarity between those two early matches on centre court, involving the losing finalists of the last three years.

Murray, the No3 seed, was in absolute control, taking a mere 57 minutes to brush aside Joao Sousa 6-0, 6-2 and take his place in the last eight, where he meets Croat teenager Borna Coric, who beat Rafael Nadal in Basel last year.

On the other hand, Berdych’s 500th win on the ATP tour, over Simone Bolelli, was strewn with errors. The 57-minute first set alone saw 54 unforced errors being committed – 30 by Bolelli.

The second set was another patchy affair, which Bolelli eventually clinched with a massive forehand.

Berdych, however, managed to find his A-game in the deciding third set and took his place in the quarterfinal with a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-0 win.

The stats from the match, however, did not make for pretty reading – Berdych finished with 55 unforced errors and Bolelli with 61, although the Czech had plenty of winners as well (30) and 12 aces to make up for the mishits.

“Oh, yeah, it was a hard day in the office,” said Berdych, a finalist here for the last two years. “It was not easy at all and I kind of expected it. But then in the end, I took my chances, started to play finally my game and get a bit more to the rhythm, and start to serve better.”

Berdych will be hoping he can repeat that third set performance when he meets Sergiy Stakhovsky today for a place in the last four, while Murray should be brimming with confidence after his authoritative performance.

Playing under a blazing afternoon sun, Murray seemed in a hurry as he closed out the first set in a mere 21 minutes, showing little sympathy for his struggling opponent.

“I have been through matches like that obviously, recently at the O2,” said Murray, who was beaten 6-0, 6-1 by Roger Federer at the 2014 World Tour Finals. “So I know how it feels when it’s happening to you.

“I obviously understand the frustration, the feelings that he might be having, but at the same time, when I have been in this position it’s not like opponents have let up.

“So you just try to keep doing what you’re doing and take care of your side of the court.”

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