Friday 24 October 2014 08:29, UK
Andy Murray continued his push for a place at next month's ATP Tour Finals in London with a comfortable 6-2 6-4 victory over Fabio Fognini at the Valencia Open.
Murray, who won this tournament in 2009 and claimed his 30th tour title when he rallied to defeat David Ferrer at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Sunday, was far too good against the feisty Italian as he racked up his 100th indoor win in 72 minutes.
It was sweet revenge for the Scot after Fognini dismantled Murray to help Italy beat Great Britain in their Davis Cup meeting in April on the Naples clay.
Murray has now won 19 of his last 22 matches on Tour after competing for the fifth straight week having also won in Shenzhen last month.
The 27-year-old former Wimbledon champion was very consistent throughout and produced an outstanding opening set to take it in just 30 minutes, winning 93% of his first serve points.
Fognini, who snapped a six-game losing streak in his first-round win against Albert Ramos, put up more of a challenge in the second set, but it was Murray who eventually prevailed.
Victory in Valencia would see the Briton climb up to fifth in the rankings and all-but assure him of a place in London.
He will next meet seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals after the South African was handed a walkover when his opponent Martin Klizan retired.
Ferrer - who is another player pushing to qualify for London - joined Murray in the last eight thanks to a 6-3 6-2 triumph over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
The top seed, a three-time champion in Valencia, was in impressive form against his compatriot, jumping out to early leads in both sets as Verdasco offered little resistance, meaning he has now lost the last six meetings of the duo.
Next up for Ferrer will be Thomaz Bellucci - the Brazilian progressed without hitting a ball as opponent Roberto Bautista Agut was forced to pull out of the tournament due to an abdominal injury.
Pablo Andujar was another Spanish player to make it through to the quarters, beating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-3 6-2. He will play fellow countryman Tommy Robredo next.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Chardy of France fought back to beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 7-5.
