The Sport Matrix: Wednesday 03 July 2013

Murray dampens expectations for quarter-final

Andy Murray has insisted he is taking nothing for granted ahead of today's Wimbledon quarter-final against Fernando Verdasco.

The Scot holds an 8-1 winning record against the Spaniard, above, but pointed to the shock early exits of the likes of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams as evidence that he should not make any assumptions about his progress, with top seed Novak Djokovic in the other half of the men's draw.

"Everyone is getting ahead of themselves and expecting me to win," he said. "When those sort of results can happen to a player as good as Serena, there's absolutely no reason why it can't happen to me. That's why I'm not getting ahead of myself, and no one else should." Murray's match is second on Centre Court today, following David Ferrer's meeting with Juan Martin del Potro. MORE

Lisicki continues Wimbledon run

Sabine Lisicki continued her fairytale run at SW19, following up her win over Serena Williams with victory over Kaia Kanepi to make the semi-finals. The German will now face Agnieszka Radwanska, while Marion Bartoli and Kirsten Flipkens also reached the last four. MORE

England warm-up descends into farce

England's Ashes warm-up match with Essex was yesterday stripped of its first-class status after a series of injuries left the hosts short of bowlers. Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott both made fifties in the second innings as England finished the third day on 217 for 3. MORE

Froome presses as Gerrans wins

Chris Froome moved up to seventh after the fourth stage of the Tour de France, ahead of all his main rivals for the race. Australian squad OricaGreenEdge took yesterday's time trial for a second consecutive stage win, Simon Gerrans moving into the yellow jersey position. MORE

'Lucky' Horwill reprieved again

Australia admitted their surprise at captain James Horwill's second reprieve for stamping on Welsh lock Alun Wyn Jones last month. "We're lucky to have him," former fly-half Stephen Larkham said. "I'm extremely surprised. I've seen the incident and it was pretty bad." MORE

Touré hits at City's lack of team spirit

Kolo Touré has made a veiled criticism of his former team Manchester City by saying of his new club Liverpool: "It's important to be part of a team that has spirit and togetherness." He added: "Two years of being part-time have helped me be more hungry."

Moyes prepares to convince Rooney

Manchester United manager David Moyes will undergo the first hurdle of his new role today when he meets Wayne Rooney. The Scot faces the challenge of persuading the England international that his future lies at Old Trafford. MORE

Ton-up Hughes in cruise control

Richard Hughes maintained his stunning recent record this week, a treble at Windsor completing the fastest hundred of his career. The champion jockey is now strong favourite to retain his title ahead of nearest challenger Ryan Moore. MORE

Blame lies with teams, says Pirelli

Pirelli claims the blame for the tyre explosions that dominated last Sunday's British GP lies with the Formula One teams. Analysis of the Silverstone failures has led the Italian manufacturers to insist the tyres are safe if used correctly. MORE

Martinez raids former club for duo

The Everton manager, Roberto Martinez, is set to raid former club Wigan for Arouna Koné and Antolin Alcaraz. Elsewhere, Kevin Phillips hopes to sign a new deal with Premier League newcomers Crystal Palace.

Nick Bollettieri

Andy Murray has a big tank of gas, which makes him favourite against Fernando Verdasco today. If Verdasco hits the ball back 10, 15 times Murray will still send it back with interest. He's the roadrunner. MORE