(REUTERS) – Former champions Andy Murray and Andy Roddick reached the quarter-finals of Queen’s Club championships yesterday as they sharpened their grasscourt games with straight-sets victories. Second seed Murray, who will spend the next few weeks shouldering Britain’s hopes of a first men’s grand slam champion since 1936, beat wily Serb Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 7-6 despite losing his service at the start of each set.
Roddick, the third seed who is looking for a record fifth title at the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event, was equally impressive as he dispatched towering South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4 to set up a quarter-final against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, a 7-5, 6-1 winner against David Nalbandian.
“Everything felt fine,” Roddick, three times a Wimbledon runner-up to Roger Federer, told reporters. “He had some chances to break. He didn’t get them. I had a couple chances and I converted. That was pretty much the story of the match.”
One break of serve in each set was enough for Roddick who had too much grasscourt nous for an opponent measuring 2.03m and whose serve was a potent weapon.
Roddick’s serving shoulder was also in fine fettle, however, and towards the end of the match he fired two bullets down at 225 kph which augurs wells for his prospects at Wimbledon.
“It took me a while to warm it up,” Roddick, a popular player in London for his all-action style and three losing Wimbledon finals, quipped when asked about his main weapon.
Top seed Rafa Nadal, fresh from his record-equalling sixth French Open title, was due to continue his transition to grass from clay later against Czech Radek Stepanek after Murray had delighted home fans in an entertaining tussle with Tipsarevic.
Murray dropped serve in the opening game of the match on centre court but hit back to break in the sixth game with a little help from a Tipsarevic double fault and a backhand that kissed the net tape to beat the bespectacled Serb.
A rain shower interrupted play with Murray leading 5-4 and after a 55-minute break, Tipsarevic returned to play a poor service game and hand Murray the set.
The second set followed the same pattern with Murray again dropping his first service game before working his way back into the set with some well-struck backhands and silky touch play.
This time it took him until the eighth game to level and despite one spectacular crosscourt winner from Tipsarevic in the tiebreaker as he sprinted back to retrieve a lob, Murray was too solid and closed out the match.
Two French players were forced to withdraw injured. Gilles Simon retired with a back strain at 3-0 down in the third set against compatriot Adrian Mannarino in a second round match held up overnight and Michael Llodra quit with a thigh injury in the first set against fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.