Murray eases into fourth round

World number one Andy Murray had little trouble accounting for Sam Querry to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Murray had been hampered by a sore ankle during his second round match at Melbourne Park but the issue did not seem to trouble him as he defeated Querry 6-4 6-2 6-4 in just under two hours.

In a relatively straight-forward win, Murray broke Querry five times but he also had to prevent the American from taking his own serve at 4-3 in the first set. He saved break point and in the next game broke his opponent before serving out.

Querry looked downhearted and he gave up his own serve to give Murray a 2-1 lead at the start of the second. He was unable to recover and another break handed the Scot a two-set advantage.

After breaking at the start of the third, Murray did give up his own serve and Querry reeled off three games to lead 3-2, only for the world's best player to break for a fifth time on his way to victory.

"It was tough. Especially in the first set, Sam was hitting a huge ball, he served extremely well but the key moment came at 3-4 in the first set," Murray said.

"I saved a break point and broke the next game and had the momentum after that."

When asked about his ankle, Murray added: "I felt better and better as the match went on in terms of movement.

"I was a bit hesitant at the beginning, a bit sore, but was moving well at the end so that was very positive."

Murray will face Germany's Mischa Zverev in the fourth round as he bids to win the tournament for the first time.

Stanislas Wawrinka was made to work slightly harder for his place in the last 16 after the former winner was taken to four sets by Serbia's Viktor Troicki.

Wawrinka served for the match twice in the fourth set, only to be broken twice, but he eventually closed out for a 3-6 6-2 6-2 7-6 win.

“It was not always the best tennis, but I'm happy to won the match. That's all that counts,” Wawrinka said afterwards.

“But tough conditions, quite windy, not easy to really play well, have a good rhythm. I'm really happy just to get through."

Wawrinka has been made to work hard through the tournament but the 2014 champion is happy to play long matches as long as he continues to make progress.

"I think when I won French Open, I was playing really well. I was winning three sets, four sets maximum every match. It doesn't matter, doesn't change anything,” he said.

“I don't really care if I play really well, well, or okay. I want to win. I want to get through those matches. I want to go as far as possible. That's what matters at the end of the day.”

Next up for Wawrinka is a fourth-round meeting against Italian Andreas Seppi, who defeat Steve Darcis 4-6 6-4 7-6 7-6.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is also through to the fourth round after defeating Jack Sock 7-6 7-5 6-7 6-3.

The Frenchman took a two sets to love lead and looked certain to see it out in three when he move 4-0 ahead in the tie-break, but he missed two match points to allow Sock back into the breaker and the American took full advantage.

Despite the missed opportunity, Tsonga broke in the second game of the fourth set and held serve to take a 3-0 and he never looked back as he sealed his place in the fourth round in just over three-and-a-half hours.

“It was tough to get over (the finish line). It was a good match ... I wish I can finish earlier but he played well. I'm really happy the way I played. Sometimes my mind is going away but I tried to be focused on the game and today I played well," Tsonga said.

"I like these people (in Australia), they always give me a good welcome since the first year I came here and played well. It was unbelievable and since that journey it's still the same. I always appreciate being on the court in front of you guys. I hope I'm going to continue."

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