• Dubai Championships

Murray, Djokovic and Federer into Dubai quarter-finals

While his first round tie with Gilles Muller didn't go completely according to plan, Andy Murray will be more than satisfied with his second-round performance after blitzing Joao Sousa at the Dubai Championships.

The two-time grand slam champion had never lost a set against his Portuguese opponent in four previous meetings and needed just 57 minutes to post a 6-0 6-2 victory.

Murray, who reached the final on his last appearance in Dubai three years ago, never had to get out of third gear thanks to 38 unforced errors from Sousa.

21 minutes to go

• In Tuesday's first-round tie with Gilles Muller, the third game alone lasted a whopping 21 minutes - exactly the same time it took Murray to win the entire opening set against Joao Sousa.

The pair met last month in the third round of the Australian Open in what proved another straightforward outing for Murray.

Sousa's poor record against Murray seemed to be on his mind from the start, with his errors proving the crucial factor as Murray raced through the opening set in 21 minutes.

It was hard to tell how well the world number three was playing because his opponent was being so charitable, and a tally of two winners and 19 unforced errors from Sousa in six games told a sorry tale.

Murray sealed the first set with an ace and then broke serve again at the start of the second.

Sousa finally got on the board in the ninth game but his resistance was fleeting and another break for Murray made it 5-2 before he served out the victory with the minimum of fuss.

Murray will play Borna Coric in the last eight after the Croatian teenager beat 2006 Australian Open finalist and former world No.8 Marcos Baghdatis in bizarre circumstances.

Quarter-final draw

• Novak Djokovic v Marsel Ilhan
• Tomas Berdych v Sergiy Stakhovsky
• Andy Murray v Borna Coric
• Richard Gasquet v Roger Federer

Coric took the first set 6-4 and Baghdatis the second 6-3 before the Cypriot wildcard retired at 4-4 in a third-set tie-break with the match just four minutes shy of the three-hour mark.

Coric is the youngest player ranked inside the ATP Tour top 100.

Like Murray, Novak Djokovic also coasted into the last eight with a 6-1 6-2 win over Andrey Golubev.

Djokovic, bidding for a 50th tour title, next faces qualifier Marsel Ilhan who caused the upset of the tournament so far with a 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory over sixth-seed Feliciano Lopez.

Roger Federer staged a remarkable first-set recovery to see off Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-3. Federer fell 4-1 behind before winning a whopping 20 points in a row to take the opening set. A visibly shaken Verdasco never recovered.

Federer will play Richard Gasquet after the Frenchman beating seventh-seed Roberto Bautista-Agut 6-4 3-6 7-6(6).

Tomas Berdych, another man Murray knocked out of the Australian Open last month, was pegged back by Simone Bolelli before carding a bagel of his own to win 7-6(7) 5-7 6-0.

Berdych faces Sergiy Stakhovsky next, after the Ukrainian edged Denis Istomin 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Murray made light work of Joao Sousa © Getty Images

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