Photo by y.caradec, some rights reserved
Britain’s Andy Murray continued his serene progress towards inevitable Australian Open defeat with a straight set demolition of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in round three.
World number five Murray tore the 32nd seed to shreds with eight breaks of serve in his 6-1 6-1 6-2 triumph which sets him up nicely for a calamitous fall, in or around the quarter final stage.
Murray dismissed his opponent in one hour 32 minutes to signal his intention of crashing out sometime near the end of the second week.
The 23-year-old Scot, still yet to drop a set at this year’s event, next plays Marcos Baghdatis or Jurgen Melzer, before being dismissed from the tournament by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or someone else, probably on Friday.
“Andy is playing so well at the moment,” said Australian tennis legend Pat Cash, “Honestly, if you didn’t know any better you’d think he could win this tournament.
“His power of serve, ground shots or sheer speed across the court will only get better and better until the point when the British fans believe his can win … and then he’ll implode.
“The disguise he puts on his ability is breathtaking.”
Murray, however, may still be in with a shout of a major sporting honour by the end of the year.
Murray’s part-time coach Alex Corretja said: “Andy has been working hard on his bland, monosyllabic interviewing technique and lifeless demeanour in a bid to secure this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.
“A couple more courageous defeats and insipid TV appearances and I reckon he’ll pull it off.”
>> Photo by y.caradec, some rights reserved
