SHENZHEN, September 27, 2018

Andy Murray advanced to the quarterfinals of the Shenzhen Open. The wild card entry from Great Britain beat defending champion and No. 1 seed David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.

Murray fired 15 aces, winning 70 per cent of his first service points to secure victory in one hour and 35 minutes.

“I felt like in terms of the way I hit the ball, it was the best I’ve played, and I think I knew that I was going to have to hit the ball very well if I wanted to win,” Murray said after his biggest win since his comeback.

“I love the conditions that we play in. Usually it’s quite humid, and the courts are a little bit faster than what we usually play on the tour. The conditions that I like are fast courts with slow balls, and with the humidity, that slows the ball down a little bit. I feel like I’m able to control the ball very well here.”

Murray, who improved to 6-0 in head-to-head records against Goffin, will next take on Spanish veterans Fernando Verdasco. The fifth seed from Madrid rallied past Taro Daniel of Japan 3-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Alex de Minaur also came back from one set down to overcome US-American Mackenzie McDonald 1-6, 7-6(1), 6-0. The #NextGenATP Australian finished the encounter after two hours and 39 minutes to face No. 4 seed Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the stage of the final eight.