LONDON — Andy Murray eased past Fernando Verdasco at the Aegon Championships on Thursday but an expected quarter-final showdown with the man who beat him at Wimbledon last year was scuppered by Luxembourg left-hander Gilles Muller.
Top seed Murray, bidding for a record-equaling fourth title at the prestigious Queen's Club, fended off some typically ferocious hitting by Spaniard Verdasco to win 7-5 6-4 and delight a large Center Court crowd.
Earlier defending champion Grigor Dimitrov, who stunned Briton Murray in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, became the latest high-profile seed to fall, losing 6-4 7-6(5) to Muller.