Valecia Open: Andy Murray into last eight to raise hopes of making World Tour Finals

The Scot beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-4

Andy Murray lost just two points on his first serve as he eased past Italy’s Fabio Fognini yesterday (EPA)

Andy Murray brushed aside Italy’s Fabio Fognini to move into the quarter-finals of the Valencia Open with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 victory.

The third seed made it 15 wins from his last 17 matches in his quest to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London next month. Now he faces the South African Kevin Anderson in the last eight in Spain.

Murray did not face a break point all match and lost only two points on his first serve while breaking his opponent three times, with Fognini serving four double faults and committing 20 unforced errors in the first set alone.

After breaking to move 3-2 ahead in the second set Murray closed out the match when Fognini committed his 36th unforced error by netting a return.

The world No 10 could meet Spain’s David Ferrer – one of his main rivals in the Race to London – in the semi-finals.

Serena Williams rebounded from her worst defeat in 16 years to rout Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard 6-1, 6-1 at the WTA Finals in Singapore.

The American 18-time Grand Slam champion was humbled 6-0, 6-2 by Romania’s Simona Halep the previous day in the Red Group.

The win keeps alive William’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals and ends Bouchard’s campaign in Singapore. However, Williams will be eliminated if Ana Ivanovic beats Halep in straight sets today. Williams said: “If I don’t qualify, I’ll be sad, but it wasn’t my year.”

Meanwhile, the outcome of the White Group remains uncertain, with none of the four players having yet qualified for the semi-finals.

Petra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-2, while Caroline Wozniacki moved closer to a place in the semis by beating Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3 for her second win in the group stage.