Eight major quarter-finals in a row for proud Murray

The third seed produced one of his best performances of the season to completely nullify the threat of big-serving Milos Raonic in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows late on Monday.

Since the US Open in 2010, Murray has managed one quarter-final, four semi-finals and two finals at the sport’s biggest tournaments as well as winning an Olympic gold medal.

The Scot will be favourite to beat Cilic, whose only win in seven previous meetings with Murray was here three years ago. Victory would set up a probable semi-final with Roger Federer.

Murray said: “I’ve played well in the slams and most of the big events over the last couple of years. That’s what I want to be doing at this stage of my career.

“I said it didn’t matter how many Masters Series or whatever I won or how well I played in them, I just always got asked about my performances in the slams. So it seemed like that  was the only thing anyone was bothered about.

“I’m glad my consistency has been better in them. I have played my best tennis in the slams, and I hope it can continue.

“But it’s not an easy thing to do to make eight straight quarter-finals. Roger’s made 34 consecutive quarters. That’s an unbelievable record but I’m happy with the way I’ve been playing in slams, for sure.”

Whether Murray actually gets back on court today remains a doubt, however, because of the weather. Yesterday, the remnants of Hurricane Isaac dumped rain on the US Open, forcing the suspension of play and threatening to cause extended delays to the last grand slam of the year. Prolonged thunderstorms are forecast for the next couple of days, raising the  possibility of flash floods on America’s eastern seaboard.