Tuesday 5 July 2016 06:49, UK
Andy Murray has warned Nick Kyrgios that he needs to improve certain areas of his game if he to ever reach the highest echelon of the game.
Murray racked up his 50th Wimbledon match win as the world No 2 and new favourite to win the title edged closer to Sunday's final.
The 2013 champion eased to a 7-5 6-1 6-4 win over Kyrgios, who lost his focus in the second set and did not give his opponent the test that had been expected.
Kyrgios, who defeated Rafa Nadal at the tournament in 2014, did not force a break point on Murray's serve as he slipped to his fifth loss in five meetings against the Briton.
And Murray, who will next face French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, responded by warning the volatile 21-year-old that he needs to find his dedication to tennis otherwise he could end up failing to fulfil his true potential.
"I think he's got a bit of time on his side," said Murray. "But obviously there's a few things he needs to improve and get better at. The sooner he does that, the better for him and his career."
The Scot is through to the last eight at the All England Club for a ninth consecutive year and feels his game is steadily improving.
Murray said: "I thought I played well. The first set was obviously key. He served extremely well in the first set. He was up in the high 80s for first-serve percentage, which to win a set against someone serving like that is big and totally changed the way the match went, I think. I played a good return game at 6-5 and that was it."
Kyrgios condemned his own performance as "pathetic" admitting he "lost belief" as Murray took control.
"It was a good first set," he said. "The rest of the match was pretty pathetic. I was really comfortable out there the first set. I thought I was playing some really good tennis. I believed that I could win the match.
"As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost belief. Obviously it felt like a mountain to climb after losing the first.
"I think when things get tough, I'm just a little bit soft. I've got experience, but it ultimately comes down to just laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didn't do that today at all."
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