Tennis: Andy Murray kept on course for a semi-final clash with Andy Roddick after beating Denmark's Kristian Pless 6-3 7-6 (7-4) at the Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis.
Murray booked his place in the quarter-finals where he will meet Austria's Stefan Koubek. And the Scot is determined to extend his current winning streak to eight matches.
He said: "I would love to win my next match. My longest win streak last year was seven and I'd like to try to go one better and put myself in a position where I have a chance of winning a tournament.
"I feel like I'm hitting the ball better. I just need to play a little bit more aggressively on the break points. I felt much more comfortable out there today."
Murray, now world number 13, could meet Roddick in the semi-finals.The 19-year-old, who retained his SAP Open title in San Jose last week, won the first game and had two break points in the second which he failed to convert. The set went with serve, even after a close tussle in the fourth which went to deuce.
At 3-3 Murray held serve before breaking Pless and holding serve to take the set.
The second was tighter and went with serve — Murray again wasting a break point in the third — as Pless went to 5-4. More wasted break points saw the set go to a tie-break.
But Murray held his nerve to win 7-4 and take the match 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
Top seed Roddick overcame German Benjamin Becker in straight sets.