Andy Murray sees off Aljaz Bedene at Queen's Club in straight sets
Thursday 16 June 2016 19:07, UK
Andy Murray beat Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-4 to book a Aegon Championships quarter-final with another Brit in the shape of Kyle Edmund.
Playing his first match against a fellow countryman in 10 years, the British number one was too strong for the British number two, clinching victory in just over an hour.
Murray's wait for another meeting with a Brit will not be nearly as long as he will face British number three Edmund who moved into the last eight after his opponent Paul-Henri Mathieu withdrew injured from the first match of the day.
It will be the first since 2002 that two British players have contested an ATP Tour quarter-final - Tim Henman beating Greg Rusedski in Adelaide.
"It wasn't bad. I'm still getting used to the conditions a bit but I played well," Murray said.
"The British thing had no bearing on it. It's good the British players are doing well and I'm happy there are more Brits at the bigger events. I had a feeling I would play one here.
"Kyle Edmund is improving all the time - it's not one massive leap but every year he gets a bit better."
With Murray targeting a record fifth Queen's Club title he started brightly with an ace down the centre but it was Bedene who forced the first break point of the match in the opening game.
Murray saved that and it wasn't until the eighth game of the opener that he forced break points of his own, and he was ruthless to take a pivotal 5-3 lead.
The world number two held serve comfortably to close out the first set.
Murray's last match against a fellow Brit was a defeat to Tim Henman in Bangkok as a teenager in 2006 and he was to ensure that he was victorious this time out against his Slovenia-born opponent.
In an evenly contested second set it was Murray who seized the early initiative forcing three break points in the opening game, but showing bags of character Bedene saved them all to take an early lead.
However, Murray did get his break to lead 2-1 only to see world number 58 Bedene hit back immediately to level at 2-2.
But Murray was showing his prowess and having wasted a break point in the fifth game he was not to do the same in the seventh, pouncing of Bedene's serve to lead 4-3 and he consolidated in comfortable fashion before closing out the match.
In the day's other action Gilles Muller survived 10 match points and 43 aces from John Isner to booked his place in the quarter-final against Bernard Tomic.
Muller, who served 23 aces of his own, fell just one short of the ATP record for match points saved on the way to an epic 3-6 7-6 7-6 victory that saw him take the second set tie break 18-16.
Tomic produced an impressive come from behind victory to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-7 6-4 6-4, while Milos Raonic ended the run of Czech lucky loser Jiri Vesey with a 7-5 7-6 win.
