Andy Murray is through to the quarter-final at the Masters Series event in Madrid after a straights set victory in the third round on Thursday.
Murray came from a break down in the first set to see off Marin Cilic 7-5 7-6(2) in 1 hour 51 minutes. The British No 1 has now defeated the world No 24 in their only two meetings having also claimed a five sets victory in the Davis Cup last year.
Murray got off to a sluggish start and Cilic immediately capitalised with an early break. However, the Croat dropped his serve when leading 5-4 and consecutive breaks for the Scot saw him steal the opening set.
After exchanging breaks, the second set went to a tie-break with Murray dominating from the back of the court to seal a last eight spot.
Murray will now face Gael Monfils of France who beat American Andy Roddick in three sets in the last 16. Murray and Monfils have met on two occasions before, both in 2006, with the head-to-head score currently standing at 1-1.
Keothavong wins opener in Italy
Anne Keothavong won her first round match against Andreja Klepac of Slovenia 6-4 6-4 at the $100k event in Ortisei, Italy. The British No 1 will now meet Ukrainian qualifier Viktoria Kutuzova in the last 16 on Thursday.
Keothavong is looking to build on the winning form that saw her lift the Dartington Vase trophy at the Barnstaple Open in Devon last week. This was the 25 year-old’s third title of 2008 and helped her rise in the world rankings to No 75.
Katie O’Brien has also won her opening match at the $50k event in France while Mel South has reached the quarter-final at the $25k event in Australia.