Murray Ends French Hopes; Gil Into First Masters 1000 QF

© Getty ImagesAndy Murray set up a quarter-final meeting with Frederico Gil.

World No. 4 Andy Murray ended French participation at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Thursday as he defeated Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament.

The Scot will next face Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil, who, earlier in the day, had accounted for France’s Gael Monfils 7-6(6), 6-2. Richard Gasquet was the first of the three remaining Frenchmen to lose, falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

With Murray leading 5-3 in the first set, Simon slipped and twisted his right ankle, requiring treatment. Upon resumption, the Frenchman dropped the next two points on his serve to surrender the set. Murray seized his opportunity, moving Simon around the court well and quickly going up 5-1 in the second set. Simon rallied to recoup one of the breaks, but Murray served out victory at the second time of asking in one hour and 35 minutes.

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"I wasn't bothered at all [about playing an injured player]," said Murray. "I was doing what I had to do to win the match as quickly and efficiently as possible. It worked. So I know every single player on the tour would have done exactly the same thing. You just got to get on with it, move on to the next match, see how they react tomorrow.

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball well. Each match I'll keep moving better. You need to always try and get yourself in the right position. That's the one thing I'll need to keep getting better at in preparation for the French [Open]."

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The 23-year-old Murray snapped a four-match losing streak in his opening second-round match when he defeated Czech wild card Radek Stepanek in straight sets. He had not won a match since finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January, suffering three opening-round losses in Rotterdam, Indian Wells and Miami.

Murray reached his first ATP World Tour clay-court semi-final two years ago in Monte-Carlo, losing out to Nadal. He will look to match that feat when he takes on World No. 82 Gil, whom he has never played before.

Despite not having played each other before, Murray knows a lot about his next opponent. "We played a little bit in the juniors around the same time," explained the Scot. "He's a couple of years older than me. Then when I was over training in Spain, we were playing some futures tournaments together. I practised with him a few times. I watched his match today, as much as I could. Obviously, clay court is his best surface. It will be a tough match, but definitely think I can win."

The 26-year-old Portuguese player had not won back-to-back tour-level matches since reaching the Estoril final (l. to Montanes) last May before his run in Monte-Carlo. He is through to the quarter-finals of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.