It was Labour Day holiday in the United States on Monday but Andy Murray came to Arthur Ashe Stadium ready to work, demolishing Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-2 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open.

With the year’s final grand slam entering its second week Murray dispatched the 22nd seed in just two hours, signalling he is well prepared to extend a dream summer that has included a second Wimbledon title and a second Olympic gold medal.

Bulgarian Dimitrov had ended Murray’s title defence at Wimbledon in 2014 and came out on top in their last meeting earlier this season in Miami but the second-seeded Scot was firing on all cylinders this time round.

He rated the match, which in-cluded a career-fastest 141-mph ace to close out the first set, as one of his best this season.

“It was definitely up there,” said Murray.

“I played very well with very few unforced errors and made it very tough for Grigor.

“That would be the fastest serve I’ve hit, the other best serve was here at the US Open around 138 but I have never hit over 140. I think that was lucky, I only did it once.”

Dimitrov held his first serve but Murray then tore through the next five, wrapping up the set in 30 minutes and capping it off with a blistering ace.

The Scotsman broke Dimitrov twice to open the second and take a 3-0 lead, then broke the Bulgarian again to open the third, never giving him a chance to get back into the match.

Next up for Murray is Japan’s Olympic bronze medallist Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori, the US Open runner-up two years ago, beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3 6-4 7-6 in the final main draw singles match at Louis Armstrong Stadium, which will be replaced by a new stadium with a retractable roof for the 2018 tournament.

It was a David and Goliath clash of physical opposites, but the six-foot-11 (2.11 m) Karlovic’s tennis game, apart from his prodigious serve, was overshadowed by the skills of Nishikori, more than a foot shorter at five-10 (1.78 m).

Nishikori made 37-year-old Kar-lovic look like he was standing still, which he often was, as he raced to victory in two hours to earn a berth into the last eight.

Nishikori, who became the first Asian to reach a grand slam men’s final in Flushing Meadows, has had a strong season, including a run to the quarters at the Australian Open before falling to Novak Djokovic.

He won in Memphis and was runner-up at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami, Barcelona and ATP Masters 1000 Toronto, losing to number one Djokovic in Miami and Toronto and to Rafa Nadal in Barcelona.

Quarter-final: Monfils bt Pouille 6-4 6-3 6-3.

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