British no.1 Andy Murray moved into the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters quarterfinals as his opponent Julien Benneteau of France was forced to retire due to an ankle injury at 6-5 for Murray.
At 5-5 in the first set, Benneteau twisted his right ankle while chasing down a shot. He received medical treatment immediately, but once Murray served out the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead, the Frenchman was unable to continue playing and decided to retire.
Next up for Murray will Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, who beat Japan’s Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-2 6-4.
Berdych started the match very slowly and Nishikori took advantage as he went up a set.
In set 2, it was a completely different Berdych, who reduced his unforced errors and as the Czech world no.7 broke his opponent twice, he levelled the match at 1 set all.
The match could have gone either way as both players had their chances in the deciding set. But after Nishikori couldn’t convert his break point opportunity at 4-4, it was the Czech who managed to take his serve in the following game to seal the match.
Also through to the last 8 is the Frenchman Gilles Simon, who defeated 7th seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 6-0 4-6 6-1.
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