Murray into 10th successive quarters

LONDON: Defending champion Andy Murray eased into the Wimbledon quarter-finals for the 10th successive year with a 7-6(1) 6-4, 6-4 victory over Benoit Paire on Monday.

Murray was not at his best against Paire and his faltering serve was frequently exploited by the 46th-ranked Frenchman, who caused the Briton trouble without being able to inflict any lasting damage.

He broke Murray twice in a row in the first set, which ended up going to a tiebreak that the top seed won comfortably.

Murray, who came into the championships with a niggling hip injury, still seems occasionally uncomfortable and lacking his usual zip around court.

He had too much guile for Paire, however, and wrapped up his 26th successive win against French opposition in two hours and 21 minutes.

Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic reached a fourth successive Wimbledon quarter-final with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 win over Roberta Bautista Agut of Spain.

Meanwhile, Sam Querrey booked a shot at Andy Murray in the quarter-finals with a five-set victory over Kevin Anderson.

The US 24th seed beat the unseeded South African 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (13/11), 6-3.Earlier, Angelique Kerber crashed out of Wimbledon and lost her hold on the world number one ranking, while five-time champion Venus Williams became the oldest All England Club quarter-finalist in 23 years.

Johanna Konta became the first British woman to reach the quarter-finals since Jo Durie in 1984.

Kerber was beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Spanish 14th seed Garbine Muguruza as the German’s fourth round exit extended a miserable run for last year’s Wimbledon runner-up.

Halep, the Romanian world number two, defeated Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 and will be guaranteed top spot if she beats Konta in the last-eight.

If Halep, a two-time French Open runner-up, loses to the Briton, then Czech world number three Pliskova will be the new number one despite losing in the second round.

Muguruza, the 2015 Wimbledon runner-up, goes on to play Russian seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova for a place in the semi-finals.

Former US and French Open champion Kuznetsova, 32, reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final in 10 years with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Polish ninth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.

With Centre Court and Court One largely taken up by four men’s matches, Kerber was exiled to the less grand Court Two.

It was a decision that brought criticism for Wimbledon organisers and Kerber was visibly frustrated by the state of surface after she slipped on several barren patches of grass on the baseline.

Kerber twice led by a break in the final set, but couldn’t close out the victory and she was quick to attack the court scheduling.

Granted showcourt billing, Williams didn’t hang around as she crushed 19-year-old Croatian Ana Konjuh 6-3, 6-2 in 64 minutes on Centre Court.

Williams made her Grand Slam debut at the 1997 French Open, seven months before Konjuh was born.

And at 37 years and 29 days, Venus is Wimbledon’s oldest female quarter-finalist since Martina Navratilova in 1994.

Williams plays French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a place in the semi-finals.

Ostapenko advanced to her first Wimbledon quarter-final after finally converting her eighth match point to defeat Ukrainian world number five Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) on tiny Court 12.

World number seven Konta defeated France’s Caroline Garcia 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4 on Court One.

Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova is into her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final after a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win over Croatian qualifier Petra Martic.

Next up for the world number 87 is a clash with American 24th seed Coco Vandeweghe.

Vandeweghe moved into her second Wimbledon quarter-final with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory over former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.

Results

Men’s 4th round

Andy Murray (GBR x1) bt Benoît Paire (FRA) 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-4; Sam Querrey (USA x24) bt Kevin Anderson (RSA) 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-7 (11/13), 6-3; Marin Cilic (CRO x7) bt Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP x18) 6-2, 6-2, 6-2

Women’s 4th round

Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP x14) bt Angelique Kerber (GER x1) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x7) bt Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x9) 6-2, 6-4; Magdaléna Rybáriková (SVK) bt Petra Martic (CRO) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3; Coco Vandeweghe (USA x24) bt Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x5) 7-6 (7/4), 6-4; Venus Williams (USA x10) bt Ana Konjuh (CRO x27) 6-3, 6-2; Jelena Ostapenko (LAT x13) bt Elina Svitolina (UKR x4) 6-3, 7-6 (8/6); Johanna Konta (GBR x6) bt Caroline Garcia (FRA x21) 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4; Simona Halep (ROM x2) bt Victoria Azarenka (BLR) 7-6 (7/3), 6-2