Murray Cruises; Kukushkin Into Record Books

© Getty ImagesAndy Murray takes a tumble, but was otherwise untroubled in his third-round win over Michael Llodra.

World No. 4 Andy Murray continued his quest to reach a third successive final at the Australian Open, beating France’s Michael Llodra 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 on Saturday to advance to the fourth round in Melbourne.

The Scot, a runner-up at Melbourne Park the past two years, hit 48 winners to just 11 unforced errors and broke his No. 46-ranked opponent on six occasions to cruise to victory in one hour and 49 minutes.

"It was tough for a set and a half," admitted Murray. "He put a lot of pressure on my serve. He came to the net a lot. Saved quite a few games where he had break points or 30-All games. Once I got up a double break in the second, we played a lot of entertaining rallies, fun points. So it was enjoyable."

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The 24-year-old Murray is on an eight-match winning streak, having opened his 2012 ATP World Tour campaign by winning his 22nd title at the Brisbane International (d. Dolgopolov). The Scot is bidding to win his first Grand Slam championship, having also lost in the final of the 2008 US Open against Roger Federer.

For a place in the quarter-finals, Murray will face World No. 92 Mikhail Kukushkin, who became the first Kazakh man to reach the fourth round of a major championship when he overcame 14th-seeded Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 1-6, 6-4.

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Murray and Kukushkin met for the first time in the first round in Brisbane, and the Scot was not surprised to see the right-hander make it to this stage in Melbourne. "When I played him in Brisbane, the first six games he was unbelievable," said Murray. "He hardly missed a ball. To me it's not that unexpected. He's won a couple of long five setters. He's obviously in good shape. When I played him in Brisbane, he was hitting the ball very well."

The 24-year-old Kukushkin had failed to win a tour-level match in 2012 prior to opening his Australian Open campaign with a straight-sets win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. He then went on to upset 19th-seeded Serbian Viktor Troicki in five sets.

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