ATP Valencia Open: Andy Murray continues London qualification bid against Kevin Anderson

Andy Murray continues his bid to qualify for the ATP Tour Finals when he takes on Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open.

The giant figure of Anderson, the world No 17, will be by far his toughest test of the week so far, and it is a match you can see live on Sky Sports 3 at noon.

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Murray leads the head-to-head stats against Anderson 2-1, their last meeting being at Wimbledon this year when the Brit won in straight sets. The South African beat Murray in their first encounter back in 2010 at the Rogers Cup in Canada, and the Scot won in straight sets at the Australian Open in 2011.

Anderson, at 6’8”, presents particular problems, first and foremost one of the biggest serves on the tour.

He will be fresh too, having been given a walkover in the second round when his opponent – Martin Klizan – withdrew with an injury.

In the first round he had a straight-sets victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Murray said: “It will be tough – he’s good indoors, he likes the conditions. He got a walkover so I expect a tough match. Hopefully I can play well and make it difficult for him.”

Physically fit

This will be Murray’s 18th match in a month, but physically he insists he feels fine.

“Luckily after the final in Vienna I got two days to get used to the conditions and do some recovery work and my first two matches have been quite quick. I hope I can get some more quick ones,” he added.

In the other quarter-final match in the top half of the draw, David Ferrer takes on Thomaz Belluci and if the Spaniard and Murray both win, they will face each other in the semis on Saturday.

That match will be critical in the Race To London, with Murray currently occupying the eighth and final place in the qualifying positions, one ahead of Ferrer who is just 110 points behind. Ferrer will overtake Murray if he beats him.  

In the bottom half of the draw Pablo Andujar plays Tommy Robredo in an all-Spanish encounter, and another Spaniard – the wildcard Pablo Carreno-Busta - takes on Jeremy Chardy.

Watch Murray v Anderson live on Sky Sports 3 from midday.