Scot Andy eases into last eight

Murray’s ‘greatest ever’

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BRITISH No.1 Andy Murray hailed his victory over Stanislas Wawrinka at the US Open as the best performance of his grand slam career.

Sixth seed Murray crushed Swiss 10th seed Wawrinka 6-1 6-3 6-3 in front of more than 23,000 fans on his debut at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach the last eight for the first time.

His one hour 49 minute display sets up a quarter-final against in-form Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, who beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori in straight sets, on Wednesday.

Murray said: “It was great. For the first match I played on that court, I’ve been looking forward to that for a long, long time and to play like that made it pretty special.

“In terms of the way that I played throughout the whole match, I didn’t lose my concentration at all, which is tough in five-set matches.

“I’ve beaten better players than Stan, but that level of performance throughout the whole match was probably my best one of all the grand slams I’ve played.”

The win also handed Murray, a three-time winner in 2008, an elevation to at least world No.5 following David Ferrer’s third round exit at the weekend, while the Scot will climb to No.4 should be outlast fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko in New York.

“I’ve watched so many matches on the TV there that I kind of knew what to expect,” he said of Ashe Stadium, which is the biggest tennis stadium in the world.

“I’ve watched a few matches from the stands but it’s such a huge stadium, and it’s a little bit different to anywhere I’ve ever played before.”