Murray sneaks into Miami QFs
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Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Two-time champion Andy Murray was a hard- fought fourth-round winner Tuesday at the Miami Open, the second consecutive ATP Masters 1000 event.
The third-seeded British star became the ninth active men's player to record 500 career match wins by getting past 15th-seeded South African slugger Kevin Anderson 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at Crandon Park.
Murray, who trains three months out of the year in Miami, also became the first British player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach 500 wins.
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He was given a cake on the court in recognition of the achievement.
"It means a lot," said Murray. "There's not a whole lot [of players] that have managed to get to 500. It's very nice to have done that. To do it here in Miami was quite fitting. I've done a lot of hard yards on this court, put in a lot of work here."
Murray titled in Miami two years ago and in 2009 and was the runner-up in 2012. His quarterfinal opponent will be promising Austrian Dominic Thiem.
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Meanwhile, sixth-seeded former French Open runner-up and 2013 Miami finalist David Ferrer handled 12th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-5), 6-0 and eighth-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up and 2010 Miami finalist Tomas Berdych was beating 17th-seeded Gael Monfils 6-3, 3-2 when the Frenchman retired with a hip injury on Day 7.
Berdych will tangle with gritty Argentine Juan Monaco in the round of eight.
The aforementioned Thiem doused 28th-seeded Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-5 and the former top-10 performer Monaco upended 29th-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3. Verdasco upset his fellow countryman Rafael Nadal in the round of 32.
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This weekend's champion will earn $900,400.