Andy Murray reaches quarter-finals

Andy Murray advanced to the French Open quarter finals for the first time yesterday when he defeated Marin Cilic 7-5, 7-6, 6-1 at Roland Garros. Although Murray, the third seed, was expected to defeat the 13th seed Cilic, the ease with which he saw off the big-serving 6ft 6in Croat will have delighted the Scot's camp.

Murray will face a tougher challenge in the next round against Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, but will feel that this tournament could be his debut grand slam victory after Rafael Nadal's shock defeat. Nadal, the Spanish world No 1, who had never lost before at Roland Garros in 31 matches, was knocked out 6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 by the Swedish player Robin Soderling, the 23rd seed at the tournament, throwing the men's tournament wide open.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Mike Dickson, Daily Mail: "You would have thought it more likely that the Arc de Triomphe would crumble yesterday than Rafael Nadal be reduced to rubble on the red clay of Roland Garros. The French Open has probably not seen anything like this since the extraordinary afternoon 20 years ago when a 17-year-old Michael Chang slayed red-hot favourite Ivan Lendl in the final. And now, in 2009, there is the added intrigue of a British player profiting from this sensational result, as relative clay court novice Andy Murray is left as the top seed in the upper half of the men’s draw."

Neil Harman, the Times: "With Nadal out of the way, the 12 left standing are suddenly supercharged. The ogre has gone. The French Open is truly open. Opportunity knocks. And, given that he is the second highest-ranked player and has beaten the man above him six of the past seven times, why should it not be Andy Murray’s championship?"

Mark Hodgkinson, Daily Telegraph: "Who would have thought that Murray, playing on his least favourite surface, would go deeper into the draw than Nadal or Djokovic? Of the quartet, Murray has had the best French Open so far, even though he has had some tricky moments of his own, particularly in his second-round match against Italy's Potito Starace. Against Cilic, Murray did not mess around." ·