A new name will adorn the Australian Open trophy for the first time in three years come January 29 – and Sir Andy Murray is refusing to slow down in his quest for glory.
World number one Murray made short work of his third round tie against Sam Querrey to book his spot in the last 16, prevailing 6-4 6-2 6-4 in just under two hours.
It came just a day after reigning champion Novak Djokovic was sensationally knocked out by Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin, leaving Murray – chasing his first title Down Under – the favourite to lift the silverware.
Murray has finished runner-up in Melbourne on five occasions since 2010, but he showed his determination to go that one step further this year against Querrey, who famously toppled Djokovic at Wimbledon last summer.
The American gave Murray a run for his money during the early stages of their match, attacking the net and making the Brit work hard for every point.
But his poor service game was his downfall, allowing Murray to take control and dominate play from there on.
Murray broke in game nine with a delightful lob en route to sealing the first set, before easing through the second with two more breaks.
Querrey took three straight games in what would prove to be the final set to lead 3-2, but two-time Olympic and Wimbledon champion Murray once again piled on the pressure to break and surge to victory.
"I felt better and better as the match went on in terms of my movement," said Murray, who twisted his ankle in his previous match.
"I was a little bit hesitant maybe at the beginning. It was a little bit sore but I was moving well at the end, so that was very positive."
He added: "Sam, especially in the first set, was hitting a huge ball.
"There was a key moment at 3-4 when I saved a break point and then managed to break the next game and had the momentum after that."
There was more British success shortly afterwards when Dan Evans secured his spot alongside Murray in the fourth round – the first time he has reached the last 16 of a Grand Slam.
Evans needed three tie-breaks to seal a straight sets victory over Australia’s Bernard Tomic, but prevailed 7-5 7-6 7-6 in just short of three hours.
He will face 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga next, while Murray will take on Germany’s Mischa Zverev.
Evans said: “I should say thank you to the crowd, it was a great atmosphere and made the match way better.
“It was tough. Bernard is difficult, he’s unorthodox, he plays aggressive and I’m happy to come through it.
“They were three tight sets, they could have gone either way, but luckily I came through.”
Sportsbeat 2017