Murray vs Raonic US Open 2012

Olympic champion Andy Murray advanced safely to the last eight at the US Open on Monday night.

Seeking his first Grand Slam title after four runner-up finishes, he defeated Canadian 15th seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 25-year-old Scotsman, who reached his eighth Grand Slam quarter-final in a row, will play for a semi-final berth against Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic, who beat Slovakian Martin Klizan 7-5, 6-4, 6-0.



Murray is 6-1 lifetime against Cilic but the only loss came in the fourth round of the 2009 US Open.
"Tough match. He's a tough player," Murray said. "He works extremely hard. He has a solid game. I will have to work extremely hard to beat him."
Murray broke Raonic with a drop volley winner for a 5-4 lead and held to take the first set after 36 minutes. In the second set, Murray broke for a 3-2 edge when Raonic netted a forehand and held serve from there to seize command.

Murray vs Lopez US Open 2012

Olympic champion Andy Murray advanced to the fourth round of the US Open on Saturday with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) victory over 30th-seeded Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez.

British third seed Murray will next face the winner of a later match between American James Blake and 15th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, in which Raonic won.

Murray, four times a Grand Slam runner-up but still seeking his first major title, had lost only one set in six prior matches against Lopez but battled in heat and humidity to avoid being ousted, trailing in all three tie-breakers.


"It was a very tough match," Murray said. "Three tie-breakers, could have gone either way. He was up in all three of them. It was hot and humid. We played some good tennis, especially toward the ends of sets."

Williams vs Makarova US Open 2012

Serena Williams gained a measure of revenge and a place in the fourth round of the U.S. Open on Saturday as she beat Ekaterina Makarova of Russia 6-4 6-0 in a tougher encounter than the scoreline suggests.

Makarova beat Williams at the Australian Open in January but the Wimbledon and Olympic champion turned the tables and needed one hour, 21 minutes to advance to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows.

 "I felt like I played better today," Williams told the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. "I played such a good opponent - she beat me at the Australian Open so I knew going into today I needed to play better and I definitely felt like I played a little better."

 In scorching conditions, the left-handed Makarova gave three-time champion Williams plenty of trouble and hung in well in the face of some heavy hitting from the American.