No sweat for Murray as Brit breezes past Chardy to reach semis in Melbourne
By MIKE DICKSON
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The 25-year-old Scot has not dropped a set and not faced a seed in making what is his eighth semi-final or better from his last nine Majors. He will now face world No 2 Roger Federer in Friday's semi-final.
Chardy briefly threatened to make life uncomfortable in the first set but perished 6-4, 6-1, 6-2, becoming the seventeenth consecutive French opponent that Murray has beaten in a Major.
Looking good: Andy Murray won through in straight sets
Through in three: Murray has not dropped a set in the tournament so far
'Today was the best I have played (in the tournament),' the British No 1 said.
'I struggled in the last few rounds a little bit and my last opponent (Gilles Simon) was struggling physically so it wasn't much of a match.
'Jeremy has beaten some great players so I had to come out sharp.'
As for tonight's other semi-final, Murray revealed he would only give it brief consideration.
Murray in a hurry: Andy made quick work of Jeremy Chardy
Contrasting fortunes: Murray looked in good form throughout as Chardy's luck ran out
Finding it tough: Jeremy Chardy found it hard to live with Murray
MURRAY BY NUMBERS
Andy Murray has not dropped a set on his way to the semi-final in Melbourne. Here are his stats from the last two Grand Slams.
0 The number of sets dropped by Murray so far in the tournament
91-41 The number of games he won and lost in the tournament so far
101-61 Murray's record on his way to the semi-final of the US Open
150-102 Games won to lift the US Open, his first grand slam title.
'I'm going to have an ice bath and then hope that Roger (Federer) and Jo Wilfried Tsonga play each other for five hours.'
He nearly got his wish as Federer beat Tsonga in a five-set thriller that lasted over three-and-a-half hours to set up a repeat of the Wimbledon and Olympic finals.
Against Chardy Murray produced his best form of the tournament, although his play has been hard to gauge due to opponents being either modest or exhausted.
Chardy's big serve and forehand combination is the type that has seen off Murray in the past at Majors - such as here against Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco in 08 and 09 - but he is far less vulnerable now.
The strapping world No 36 presented him with a break in the very first game by netting a simple backhand volley, and soon Murray raced away to 4-0.
Hitting it well: Andy Murray dropped just six games on his way to victory
Serving for glory: Murray looked strong in his service games
End of the road: Chardy's best ever grand slam performance came to an end
Broken man: Chardy had no answer to Murray's dominance
Then came the only seriously competitive phase as the Frenchman found his range and pulled back to 4-3, finding the flair to give the Scot anxious moments as he tried to serve it out.
Once a netted forehand return had completed the set it quickly became one way traffic as Murray moved through the gears, some of his defensive scrambling breaking Chardy's heart.
There were glimpses of Murray at his very best as the match became processional.
The timing has been good for him to come to the boil, for the competition will suddenly ramp up several levels now.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/tennis/article-2266805/Australian-Open-2013-Andy-Murray-beats-Jeremy-Chardy-6-4-6-1-6-2-reach-semi-finals.html#ixzz2IpHdjtVl
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