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Murray advances to quarters with easy win at Paris Masters

PARIS (AP) In a prelude to this month's Davis Cup final, Andy Murray routed David Goffin 6-1, 6-0 Thursday to reach the quarterfinals at the Paris Masters while top-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced in straight sets.

Murray lost only eight points on his serve and broke the 16th-seeded Belgian five times.

''It was good for me to get the chance to play him before the Davis Cup and see his game and the speed of his shots and where he maybe makes some mistakes from and things that he likes to do,'' Murray said. ''Obviously with the result, that's a positive. I mean, mentally for me it's a positive win.''

Murray and Goffin are expected to face each other again in the Davis Cup final between Britain and Belgium in Gent from Nov. 27-29.

''It was difficult for me to do something today,'' Goffin said. ''I felt tired. My body was on the court, but there was nobody on the inside.''

Thursday's match was played on an indoor hard court, but the host Belgians opted to play on clay in the Davis Cup.

''Obviously clay is seen as being my worst surface, but I still feel like I play well on that court,'' Murray said. ''I don't know what speed the court's going to be. You know, if it's quick, then I think that will help my serve a lot. If it's slow, then I feel like I can track a lot of balls down on the clay which is positive. I can make it physical and tough that way.''

The second-seeded Murray will next face Richard Gasquet of France, who advanced when Kei Nishikori of Japan retired while trailing 7-6 (3), 4-1. Nishikori received a back massage at the changeover before stopping in the next game.

''After the first set, I started feeling my abs, side abs,'' Nishikori said. ''I could not really hit serves, I could not really hit 100 percent.''

Djokovic booked his spot in the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 14th-seeded Gilles Simon that extended the Serb's unbeaten streak to 19 matches and 26 sets in a row.