Andy Murray earned a spot in the U.S. Open quarterfinals thanks to an impressive 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Grigor Dimitrov on Monday.Dimitrov came in playing as well as he has in a couple of years, but he was no match for the No. 2 player in the world, who looked dominant in all phases of the game.Murray had nine aces, compared to two for Dimitrov. Murray also won 79 percent of his first-serve points and 54 percent of his return points. Dimitrov broke his serve only once before Murray finished off his opponent in just two hours.According to Matt Wilansky of ESPN.com, this is the sixth time Murray has won a Grand Slam match while losing five or fewer games."Tactically I played a good match," Murray said after the win, per Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian. "I served very well when I got behind, very few unforced errors. I enjoy it in here [on Arthur Ashe Court], fantastic atmosphere. Tonight is the first night its been a little bit windy."His performance early in the tournament after winning at Wimbledon and the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro likely makes him the favorite to bring home another major championship.Murray set the tone early Monday with an impressive showing in the first set. Jeff Tarango of BBC5 Live explained how conditioning made a difference in the first few games (via BBC5 Live's David Law):David McCarthy of the Daily Record summed up the first set:Not only did Murray take advantage of both break opportunities in the set, but he also won 17 of his 22 service points while giving Dimitrovfew opportunities.The second set was more competitive, but it was still clear who was the better player. Murray excelled with his defense, earning three breaks while winning 57 percent of his return points en route to a 6-2 win.His ability to cover the court and his precise shot placement were unbelievable, as the U.S. Open showed:By this point, the biggest issue was the lack of entertainment value, as Chris McKendry of ESPN observed:The onslaught continued in the third set, with Murray looking nearly flawless while closing out the victory. He won 11 of his 12 first-serve points while making just six unforced errors.Graham Ruthven of Bleacher Report summed up what fans were watching:Dimitrov wasn't at his best, but there might not be anyone in the world who would have been able to beat the No. 2 seed on Monday night.Murray was coming off a tough match againstPaolo Lorenzi in the third round, where he needed four long sets to survive. He knew that level of play would not get it done against a tougher opponent."The last few weeks, he has been playing very well, getting back to a level that he's capable of playing at," Murray said of Dimitrov, per BBC Sport. "I expect it to be very hard. I'll be ready for that. I'll need to play better than Saturday if I want to win."The British competitor looked as though he was at his best in the round of 16 and had no problem earning the victory.Things should get tougher for Murray, with No. 6 seed Kei Nishikori looming in the quarterfinals. The Japanese star is coming off a straight-sets victory over Ivo Karlovic in which he had 44 winners and just seven unforced errors.If both players perform like they did Monday, the fans could be in for a great match Wednesday. Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter.
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