ANDY MURRAY already believed he could win the French Open.
And after this convincing, composed, confidence-building victory, the great and the good of tennis are coming round to his way of thinking.
Murray looked every inch the world No 1 in a 6-3 6-4 6-4 disposal of 21-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov, whose time for glory may come one day.
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But not in Paris this year, because the Brit is coming into form at exactly the right time.
Murray, 30, said: “It was probably the best I have played overall.
“Each match I feel like I played better.
“I have hit the ball cleaner and started to see the right shots at the right moments.
“I’ve come a long way the last ten days or so.
“Everything is going pretty well just now. I’m feeling good going into the middle part of the second week.”
Murray’s progress has not escaped the attention of Goran Ivanisevic and John McEnroe, who are among court legends set to contest the Trophee des Legendes at Roland Garros this week.
Former Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic said: “Sometimes you can play so bad before a Grand Slam but the Grand Slam comes and you win somehow — and you don’t know why.
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“He has found himself and he has found himself at the right moment.
“He’s playing better and better.”
Ivanisevic, who has no doubt Murray will beat Kei Nishikori in tomorrow’s quarter-final, still makes Rafael Nadal a strong favourite to claim the title on Sunday.
McEnroe is less convinced. The seven-time Grand Slam champion reckons Murray is probably a good bet to make it to the final.
There, his chances of victory could depend on the nature of the other semi-final, in which Nadal is seeded to meet reigning champion Novak Djokovic.
McEnroe said: “I think Andy’s been great.
“The draw looked fairly tough in the beginning. But now you would have to say you would be somewhat surprised if he didn’t get at least to the semis, if not the final.
“Is Rafa winning a foregone conclusion? I don’t think so.”
To call this a routine victory is to do Murray a double disservice.
Firstly, because reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open has not been a regular occurrence for British players over the past 80 years.
Murray’s last-eight clash with Japanese ace Nishikori will be his record-extending seventh Paris quarter-final, more than Fred Perry or any other Brit.
And secondly, the sight of Murray playing this well has been rare in a difficult year.
But this was the player we have become used to watching brush aside pretenders like the 6ft 6in Khachanov, whose double faults at crucial times were ruthlessly punished.
This was the player who last year became the first British man in a Paris singles final since 1937.
Ivanisevic, in an echo of Murray’s own words after the third-round win over Juan Martin Del Potro, said: “Now all the things are possible. Anybody can win.”
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