Murray must up the ante in Toronto

Published on Friday 25 July 2008 10:50

ANDY MURRAY knows he will need one of the best victories of his career later today if he is to beat Novak Djokovic and reach the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

The British No.1 battled to a 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 win over Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round yesterday but will need to improve if he is to progress further.

Third seed Djokovic is the defending champion and will be looking for his sixth straight victory against his fellow 21-year-old, with Murray winning only ten games in their last three meetings.

"He's obviously, behind (Roger] Federer and (Rafael] Nadal, the third best player by a long way," said the eighth seed.

"He's playing very well – for me, this is probably his best surface. So I have to go out there and play aggressively.

"I can't afford to make as many unforced errors as I did (yesterday] but I'm playing well and I'm back in the top ten. I think my ranking might go up again after this week so I'm feeling confident."

Murray looked set to cruise through against Wawrinka after opening up a 4-0 lead, but the big-hitting Swiss improved immeasurably after receiving treatment to his right knee. Suddenly, all his groundstrokes were finding the lines and Murray looked stunned as Wawrinka raced through the second set without dropping a game.

The Scot dug in well at the start of the decider, ensuring he ended his seven-game losing streak, and a break in the crucial seventh game allowed Murray to serve out for victory.

Murray said: "When I have played him in the past he's struggled a bit to close the matches out so I knew I had to keep fighting and I found some first serves when I needed them and made a few key returns."

Djokovic, meanwhile, recorded a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sweden's Robin Soderling.