Andy Murray holds off Stanislas Wawrinka challenge

Andy Murray edged a step closer to a third successive title after overcoming a tricky second set to see off Stanislas Wawrinka and move into the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters today.

Murray, victorious in Bangkok and Tokyo in his previous two tournaments, played some stunning tennis in sets one and three but struggled in between as the world number 19 made it a contest.

The Scot, seeded second here behind Rafael Nadal, eventually prevailed after breaking the Swiss's resistance in the decider to secure a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory in two hours and 11 minutes.

Murray, playing his opening match in Shanghai after a first-round bye was followed by a walkover against Dmitry Tursunov, held a 5-4 record against Wawrinka going into the contest but was clearly intent on avenging defeat in their previous meeting in the last 32 at last year's US Open.

He played some scintillating tennis early on, breaking when his opponent double-faulted in the opening game and followed that up with another break to surge into a 3-0 lead.

Wawrinka replied by dragging it back to 3-2 but he could not make further inroads in the remainder of the set as the Murray serve held firm.

Inevitably, Murray's level dipped in the second and Wawrinka found a foothold.

Although Murray saved two break points to hold for 3-3 there was no reprieve in his next service game as Wawrinka broke through for 5-3 and then served it out.

The early part of the decider was a mirror-image of the opening set, Murray cruising into a 3-0 lead after which the Swiss underwent on-court treatment for a lower back problem.

Wawrinka's frustration overflowed in the next game as he smashed his racket in disgust on his way to being broken once more.

The 26-year-old from Lausanne did mount a late rally to make the scoreline more respectable before Murray closed it out.

The win extends Murray's record to 22 wins from his last 23 matches, his only defeat in that period coming against Nadal at Flushing Meadows.

PA