In the battle of former champions, Andy Murray defeated David Goffin 6-3 6-4 to complete 14 consecutive sets against the Belgian and reach the last eight in Shenzhen.
The Brit secured the best win of his comeback by ranking as he defeated top seed and defending champion David Goffin in Shenzhen.
The 31 year old Brit will now await Taro Daniel or Fernando Verdasco in tomorrow’s quarter-finals after his stunning win.
The former world number one has now won 14 consecutive sets against Goffin as he served down 15 aces during the contest that lasted 1 hour and 35 minutes.
The 2014 champion secured the early break for a 3-1 lead as he showcased the world class returning ability that he obtains.
Despite the Belgian breaking back with some lightening footwork, the now world number 311 regained control to have the opportunity to serve for the set. The Brit completed the first set in 38 minutes as he took the early advantage.
The top seed still looked tired from Europe’s Laver Cup triumph and that was evident in the second set when he trailed Murray by a double break 4-1.
However the Brit started to lose control of the match at the end of the second set as he surrendered one of the breaks of serve. The main features of Murray’s game started to slip as Goffin was within touching distance of levelling the set at 5-5.
Fortunately for Murray, the Belgian still looked tired and an embarrassing missed smash saw Goffin see his break point opportunities slip away.
Goffin BP (for @danyfuenlacity @AnnaK_4ever )(🎥ATP) pic.twitter.com/KPYUTYRFuE
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) September 27, 2018
After saving three break points, Murray completed the victory with his 15th ace of the match as he booked his place in the quarter-finals of the Shenzhen Open. It was always going to be tough for the Belgian considering he only arrived in China early on Wednesday morning.
However, Murray was certainly impressive and showed signs that he was back to his form that took him to three grand slam titles. The Brit will now face either Taro Daniel or Fernando Verdasco in a US Open rematch.
In the other second round matches, Damir Dzumhur and Alex De Minaur both booked their places in the quarter-finals in Shenzhen. The 4th seeded Bosnian completed a 6-4 6-2 win over Ramkumar Ramanathan despite hitting five double faults.
He will now face Alex De Minaur who overcame Mackenzie McDonald 1-6 7-6(1) 6-0 to reach the last eight in China. The clash between Dzumhur and De Minaur is set to be a preview of the Davis Cup match in February when Australia host Bosnia in the qualifying event.
Tomorrow’s quarter-finals will start at 11am local time.
