Murray and Federer roll into Open last 8

NEW YORK - Agence France-Presse

Andy Murray of Great Britain returns a shot to Milos Raonic of Canada during Day Eight of the 2012 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Olympic champion Andy Murray advanced to the last eight at the U.S. Open while World No. 1 Roger Federer reached his 34th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal on Monday without touching a racquet.

British third seed Murray, seeking his first Grand Slam title, defeated Canadian 15th seed Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 25-year-old Scotsman, who reached his eighth Grand Slam quarter-final in a row, will play for a semi-final berth against Croatian 12th seed Marin Cilic, who beat Slovakian Martin Klizan 7-5, 6-4, 6-0.
Murray is 6-1 lifetime against Cilic but the only loss came in the fourth round of the 2009 U.S. Open.
“Tough match. He’s a tough player,” Murray said. “He works extremely hard. He has a solid game. I will have to work extremely hard to beat him.” 

Top seed Federer, seeking an unprecedented 18th Grand Slam title and record sixth U.S. Open crown, advanced by walkover when American Mardy Fish withdrew from their match over health concerns.
“I am really sorry for Mardy,” Federer said. “I just want to wish him a speedy recovery. We all want to see him back on tour soon.” 

Federer has earned 38 career quarterfinal Grand Slam appearances, three shy of the Open-era record 41 achieved by American Jimmy Connors. The 31-year-old Swiss star reached a last-eight matchup with Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-1.