Wimbledon 2017: Andy Murray reaches quarter-finals with straight-set victory

Murray marches on to the quarter-finals for the 10th consecutive time (Getty)

Crazy Kazaks, unpredictable Germans, flamboyant Italians, eccentric Frenchmen – they are all the same to Andy Murray. The world No 1 has faced an exotic mix of some of the game’s more charismatic figures in his first four matches here and come through each of them with a minimum of fuss.

Benoit Paire was the latest showman to be swept off the Centre Court stage as Murray won 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 to secure his 26th win in a row against Frenchmen in tour-level matches and his 28th in succession against them in Grand Slam competition.

Like Alexander Bublik, Dustin Brown and Fabio Fognini in the previous three rounds, Paire had no answer to the consistent brilliance of a player attempting to win his third Wimbledon title.

Murray swept aside his oponent in straight sets (Getty)

“I thought I played well,” Murray said afterwards. “Maybe I played a couple of sloppy service games in the first set. But that was by far the best I’ve hit the ball so far in the tournament. I’m really pleased with that.”

In the 66 matches he has played at Wimbledon Murray has never lost to a player ranked lower than No 19 in the world. Paire, the world No 46, never looked like denting that record as the Scot secured his place in the quarter-finals of his home Grand Slam tournament for the tenth year in a row. On Wednesday he will play the American Sam Querrey, who beat Kevin Anderson 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.

In the Open era only Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors and Boris Becker have played in more quarter-finals here than Murray, who has also reached the last eight in 24 of the last 26 Grand Slam tournaments he has contested.

There had been times when Murray’s level had dipped against Fognini in the third round, but this time he struck the ball much better against yet another opponent who did not give him any rhythm.

Paire, who was attempting to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time in his career, lived up to his reputation as one of the most unpredictable players on the tour. The 28-year-old Frenchman has plenty of talent and plays with the flair we have come to expect of most of his compatriots, but his erratic forehand is a major liability and his shot selection can be woeful.

Although he hit some wonderful drop shots, some of them with vicious spin that had the ball bouncing backwards or shooting off at right-angles, Paire resorted to the tactic far too frequently. At other times he threw himself to the floor diving for impossible volleys or stretching in vain to reach Murray’s booming serves.

You would not find Paire’s idiosyncratic forehand in any coaching manuals, but the Frenchman’s two-handed backhand is a major weapon. He is one of the only players who regularly runs around his forehand in order to hit his backhand.

Jo Konta also found herself in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (AFP)

“Some guys might have better backhands than forehands, but most players generate more power and try to hit their winners off the forehand side just because it's a little bit easier,” Murray said afterwards. “You tend to have a little bit more power on that side.

“But he doesn't. He hits the ball bigger off his backhand side. He has great timing on that shot, great feel. Most guys move around their backhand to hit forehands. He moves the other way. It's quite rare to see that. It takes a bit of time to adjust to that.

Paire made the first break of serve in the third game, converting his first break point with a stylish forehand volley. It was a confident start by the Frenchman, though he promptly threw away the advantage with some eccentric choices of shot – most notably two injudicious drop shots – as Murray broke back immediately.

At 2-2, however, Murray dropped his serve when he netted a backhand following a fine approach shot by Paire. In keeping with the unpredictable nature of the opening set, Murray had been broken in two of his first three service games despite missing only one of his first 16 first serves.

Murray levelled at 4-4 with the fourth break of serve of the match, Paire making forehand errors on the last two points. At 5-6 the Scot failed to convert two set points on Paire’s serve, but Murray was utterly dominant in the ensuing tie-break, which he won 7-1.

Paire’s frustration at ending the first set in such limp fashion was evident in the opening game of the second as he dropped his serve to love. The Frenchman broke back to level at 3-3, but at 4-4 he played another poor game, again losing his serve to love, this time with a woeful volley when 0-40 down. Murray served out for the set, though he had to save four break points before completing the task.

When Paire went 0-40 down at 2-2 in the third set it seemed that the end might be swift, but the Frenchman dug deep to hold on to his serve and had a break point for a 5-3 lead when Murray served at 3-4.

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Murray held firm, however, and when Paire served at 4-4 and 40-15 the pressure finally told on the Frenchman, who lost four points in a row with a succession of ragged shots to give Murray the chance to serve for the match. He did so at the first attempt, Paire hitting a forehand long on the Scot’s first match point.

“I'm moving well,” Murray said afterwards. “I didn’t feel like I moved that well against Fabio. But the first two matches and today, I felt like I moved really well. I certainly feel like I've been tested in that department a lot because the guys I've played against have done a lot of forward movements. I've been pushed around the court quite a bit. I've moved well.

“That was certainly one of the most pleasing things about today’s match, because I felt like I was able to track down a lot of his shots. I came up with some good shots on the run and made it difficult for him to hit loads of winners past me. That's a big part of my game. If I'm struggling and not moving well, it affects my performance maybe more than other guys who don't rely on their movement as much.”