- French Open
Murray eager to snap poor clay run against Ferrer
Britain's Andy Murray acknowledges he will have to go to another level in order to beat French Open quarter-final opponent David Ferrer, the Scot admitting it will be "very tough" to secure a first win over the Spaniard on clay.
After surrendering the first set against Richard Gasquet, the world No. 4 hit top form to surge into the last eight on Monday.
Murray showed little sign of the back injury that had threatened to curtail his Roland Garros bid earlier in the tournament, relinquishing only nine points in a 24-minute third set en route to a morale-boosting 1-6 6-4 6-1 6-2 triumph.
World No. 6 Ferrer stands in the way of Murray reaching the semi-finals at the French Open for a second consecutive year and, although the Scot edges the head-to-head 5-4, the Brit expects the Spaniard to push him to the limit.
"We've had some great matches, I've known him since I was a young kid, he is an unbelievable talent," Murray, who has lost all three of their clay-court meetings, told ITV4. "Every time I play against him I expect a very tough match. I'll have to play really well to win."
Murray, who was booed as he made his way on to court to face home favourite Gasquet, admitted the ninth game (which Murray won before immediately going on to break his opponent to level the match) of the second set against the Frenchman was the key moment of their last-16 clash.
Murray said: "That game was very important, he started very well, he went for a lot of shots, took high risks. It was damp and wet on the court. I was hitting very short at the start and he was dictating play. I needed to be a bit more patient, which I was at the end of the second set."