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Andy Murray surged into the US Open fourth round with a clinical destruction of Taylor Dent in just 90 minutes on centre court last night as Rafael Nadal's title challenge was put in serious doubt by a stomach injury.
The World No2 produced brilliant returns of serve against the powerful Dent to win 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 and next meets 16th seed Marin Cilic, of Croatia.
Murray is scheduled to take on Nadal in the semi-finals — a repeat of last year's match — if the Spaniard can deal with his recurring injury problem.
The Scot said: “I returned really well against Taylor and I love night matches here in New York — I played really well.”
While Murray was impressing the Big Apple crowd with his outstanding form, Nadal was back in his Manhattan hotel undergoing intensive treatment on the abdominal injury he sustained in Cincinnati three weeks ago.
It flared up again yesterday, with the Spaniard requiring on-court assistance from the trainer during his 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 win over countryman Nicolas Almagro, the No32 seed.
Murray has seen Nadal being taped up before matches and is wary about speculating about the injury and said: “He's had the tape on his stomach and being in the locker room, obviously we can see that.
“You never now how bad it is because things can get better in a couple of days, or sometimes they get worse.
“You just have to focus on your own matches not what's going on in the other players.”
However, no matter how many times Nadal smiled in the post match interview, he could not spin a positive line about his abdominal problems.
Looking in pain, on and off court, he said: “I know everybody wants to talk about the injury. I really don't want to talk about that. That's the thing.
I am a little bit tired to talk about injuries. I am here to try my best every day.
“I won the match in three sets, so I'm happy for that. I'm going to try my best next round. That's all.”
Nadal came back from the knee injury that meant he could not defend his Wimbledon title just three weeks ago and his cause is not helped by the hard courts that have always exposed his injury worries.
Those troublesome knees take a fearful pounding at this time of year, when every tournament is on the North American concrete.
Murray is preparing for another difficult challenge against Cillic and said: “He's six foot six, with a big serve, but moves well for his height, so I'll need to return well.”
Meanwhile, ninth seed Gilles Simon retired hurt with a knee injury early into the fourth set of his third-round tie against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The Frenchman was trailing the Spanish 24th seed by two sets to one and had been broken in the first game of the fourth set.
