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Murray rarely tested in Seppi success

Andy Murray breezed into the quarter-finals © Getty Images

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Andy Murray cruised into the quarter-finals of the Sony Open on Tuesday, after easily dealing with Andreas Seppi in straight sets.

Murray, in contrast to his slight struggle against Grigor Dimitrov on Monday, stormed out of the blocks against the uncertain Italian, before a timely second set break allowed him to clinch a 6-2 6-4 victory as he breezed into the last eight.

Afterwards, the Scot admitted that - with his family and friends with him in a city where he now resides for much of the year - he was feeling very comfortable with his game.

"I'm having a good time here, with my friends and family," Murray said, speaking to Sky Sports. "Hopefully that can go on."

In truth Murray never looked in danger of being upset by Seppi, especially after breaking the Italian in the very first game of the match. The world No. 19 appeared to be struggling with his timing in the early exchanges and never recovered from that - failing to hit a single winner as he duly lost the stanza.

The second set was a more even affair, especially after Murray was thwarted in his pursuit of another early break as his opponent showed some greater resolve. Seppi enjoyed more luck with his range of shots - finding his first winner in the first game of the set - and pushed his opponent more frequently as both players held with only occasional difficulty.

Murray, however, was not fazed - eventually claiming a break at 4-4 after Seppi fired a forehand into the net, before confidently serving out for the match (although only after a slight wobble to give Seppi a glimmer of hope at 30-40).

"He struggled a bit at the start, and I was able to track down a lot of his balls because he wasn't really timing it," Murray added. "He started going for his shots more in the second, he made it tough for me.

"He gained some confidence and made it very difficult for me."

Murray will now face Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals, after the Croatian successfully overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga later on Tuesday.

In a hard-fought tussle, Cilic won the crucial points to edge matters in a 7-5 7-6(4) triumph on the stadium court.

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