Andy Murray has stepped closer to a British record, the Scot closing to within two career wins of surpassing the victory record set by Tim Henman at the Indian Wells Masters.
Murray, a 2009 finalist in the desert, beat Philip Kohlschreiber 6-1 3-6 6-1 on Monday and will play Adrian Mannarino after the Frenchman upset Latvian 14th seed Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-4.
Murray scored his 495th win as he overcame his German opponent to reach the fourth round. Henman, Murray's mentor, retired with 496 victories and was the most successful of the British men - as a four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist - until Murray won the grass grand slam in 2013.
Murray advanced in just under two hours against Kohlschreiber to stand 2-1 in that series. The German stole the second set with a reflex volley off his heels followed by an ace to level at a set each before dropping the third set badly.
The winner said that conditions were complex, with the ball speeded up by the heat at midday and other weather factors.
"Always when you play in big arenas, when a bit of wind does get in, it's much stronger than it appears," he said.
"When you add that into the conditions it makes the ball even tougher to control.
"I've been pretty happy with the way I have struck the ball. I hit the ball very clean considering in my first two matches, which is a good sign.
"But I don't look ahead or think about winning events whilst in the third or fourth round. It's just concentrate on the next match and try and beat whoever you are playing on that day."
US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, seeded fifth, beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4 In women's play, Swiss teen Belinda Bencic scored an upset by beating 2011 winner Caroline Wozniacki, the fourth seed 6-4 6-4.
The seed didn't help her effort by striking eight double-faults in a loss lasting one hour, 40 minutes.
Share
