Murray and Ferrer cruise into China Open quarters

[October 06, 2016]  (Reuters) - World number two Andy Murray crushed Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov 6-2 6-1 and fifth seed David Ferrer overwhelmed Italian Fabio Fognini 6-3 6-4 to reach the China Open quarter-finals in Beijing on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Murray won 81 percent of first-serve points and Kuznetsov made a string of unforced errors to hand the Briton victory in one hour 16 minutes.

Murray will meet his 21-year-old compatriot Kyle Edmund, who upset Spanish world number 18 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 4-6 6-4, in the last eight on Friday.

"(On) the day of the match, it's always a little bit uncomfortable," Murray, a three-times grand slam winner, told reporters about facing his Davis Cup team mate.

"Normally when you see your friends and stuff in the locker room, you have a chat, joke around a bit. But on match days, it always tends to be a little bit more serious."

The 34-year-old Ferrer, who reached the China Open final in 2010 maintained his perfect career record over Fognini.

Andy Murray of Britain celebrates winning the match against Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

The Spaniard, bidding to reach his first final of the year, will next face in-form 19-year-old Alexander Zverev, who beat American Jack Sock 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)

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