Andy Murray surpasses Tim Henman’s UK record

Andy Murray celebrates match point against Feliciano Lopez. Picture: Getty

A one-sided 6-3, 6-4 victory earned Murray a semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Murray did not drop a point in his first two service games but forced 12th seed Lopez to two deuces in his first and broke in the next for a 3-1 lead.

A third love hold followed and though he finally dropped a point on his serve in the seventh game of the set, he was untroubled in wrapping it up 6-3.

The Scot then broke serve in the opening game of the second and held his advantage, Lopez still having to battle hard just to hang in the match against an opponent he has never beaten.

Murray broke again to leave himself serving for the match with new balls – but with the finish line in sight, he dropped his serve for the first time as Lopez took pace off the ball and produced some deft angled shots. Lightning could not strike twice, though, and fourth seed Murray wrapped up the match in his next service game.

“It was a good match in difficult conditions against a tough opponent,” Murray said afterwards. “I passed very well today and it stopped him from feeling comfortable at the net. It kept him back and I was able to dictate the points.

“I’ve got my level back to where I was before my back injury. I’m back to doing the things I was doing well before my surgery.”

World No 1 Djokovic progressed to the last four without hitting a ball after his Australian quarter-final opponent Bernard Tomic withdrew with a back injury. “Against him you’re going to have a play a high-quality match,” Murray said of tomorrow’s showdown with his Serbian rival.