Andy Murray beats Sam Querrey

Top seed Andy Murray made short work of American Sam Querrey to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open.

Murray, who hopes to finally win the title after finishing runner-up five times, goes on to face Germany’s Mischa Zverev, the world number 50.

Querrey was the man who upset then world number one Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last summer, but Murray made sure he did not fall victim to another shock after the Serb’s surprise defeat by Denis Istomin on Thursday.

The American missed a fleeting chance with a break point in game eight and Murray immediately took advantage, getting the break himself in the next game with a beautiful lob.

There was a flurry of resistance as Querrey reeled off three straight games to lead 3-2 in the third set, but Murray once again turned up the pressure with his return to break for a fifth time on his way to a comprehensive victory.

The Swiss, a potential semi-final opponent for Murray, will play Andreas Seppi next after the Italian beat Belgian Steve Darcis 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-2).

Should Murray get past Zverev on Saturday he could face a daunting quarter-final against four-time champion Federer, seventh seed Berdych or fifth seed Kei Nishikori, with Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko the outsider in that section.