Murray to face Nadal in Italian Open quarter-finals for first time since 2011

British Wimbledon champion Andy Murray will meet world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open for the first time since 2011 following their respective third round victories on Thursday.

On his 27th birthday, the Scot produced a determined display, in which he faced ten break points, to beat Austrian Jurgen Melzer and win 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 before Nadal came from a set down to see off former top 10 player Mikhail Youzhny 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-1.

According to the BBC, it is the furthest Murray has gone in the Rome tournament since his semi-final defeat against world No.2 Novak Djokovic in 2011 and bodes well for the start of the French Open, which is the only Grand Slam Murray has not won, on May 26.

Meanwhile, second seed Djokovic beat Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 4-6 6-2 6-1 and will next play David Ferrer of Spain after the fifth seed won 6-2 6-3 against Latvia's Ernests Gulbis, the report added.