Andy Murray scored a signature win at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday, overcoming an early deficit to beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-2 in the third round. The victory was the Brit’s 600th at the ATP World Tour level and stretched his career-best unbeaten streak to 20 matches.

“It’s cool that it happened in Cincinnati, the first [ATP World Tour Masters 1000] tournament I’ve ever played in. I got a wild card here when I was 18,” Murray told ESPN’s Brad Gilbert after the match. “I also won my first Masters 1000 here, so it’s a place that means a lot to me.”

Despite the final outcome, it was Anderson who made the better start. The South African, who upset Murray in four sets at the US Open last year, stepped into the court early and often and earned a break in the fifth game of the match. Undaunted, Murray broke back in the following game thanks to three unplayable forehand passes and was in control the rest of the way. He was especially sharp returning Anderson’s second serves, winning 16 of 24 points, and finished with four breaks of serve (4/9).

“Kevin has had some tough injuries to deal with this year and is starting to sort of gradually get back to the level he was playing at last year. It takes time,” Murray said. “For me, I’m coming off the best few months of my career, so it’s slightly different circumstances.”

Murray joins Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer as the only active players with 600 wins. A decade ago, the Brit served notice of his potential by upending top seed Federer in the second round of this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

Murray improved to 6-2 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against Anderson and will face Bernard Tomic in the quarter-finals. Tomic has yet to beat Murray in four tour-level meetings.

“He had a good win today against Nishikori,” Murray said. “He’s a talented player. We’ve had some tough matches. He plays with a lot of variety.”

Andy Murray’s surge from 500 to 600 victories in just 116 matches for today’s milestone win, secured against Kevin Anderson at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, is testament to his dedication, technical ability, agility and mind-body awareness.

The 24th player in ATP World Tour history to attain 600 match wins, is currently the in-form player with a 36-3 match record since 11 April, including a current career-best 20-match winning streak. He has captured four titles – the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, Aegon Championships, Wimbledon and Rio Olympics gold medal – from six finals (Mutua Madrid Open, Roland Garros).

Murray’s reunion with Ivan Lendl in mid-June has provided a psychological boost; a mentor that not only knows how to win, but how to prepare for and negotiate tricky situations in big matches. Aided by his good friend Jamie Delgado, Murray’s rich form ensures that he looks set to challenge Novak Djokovic for year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

An increasingly popular champion worldwide, Murray continues to inspire and change the perception and status of tennis in Great Britain as one of its best known sports stars. Today, he has added to his legacy.

MURRAY JOINS ACTIVE 600-MATCH WINS CLUB

Murray is the fifth active player on the ATP World Tour – and the 24th player overall in the Open Era – to join the 600 Match Wins Club. Here are the active players to reach the milestone:

MURRAY’S MATCH WINS MILESTONES

Top seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut moved into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday in Cincinnati, denying the American wild card pairing of Ryan Harrison and Brian Baker, 6-4, 6-7(7), 10-2. The win booked the French duo a showdown with Canadian sixth seeds Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil.

Nestor and Pospisil rallied from a set down to defeat American wild cards Eric Butorac and Taylor Fritz, 6-7(2), 6-4, 10-5. Nestor is a five-time champion in Cincinnati and prevailed last year with Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Butorac is retiring from the ATP World Tour at the US Open.

Third seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares also advanced to the quarter-finals. The British-Brazilian duo did not drop serve in defeating Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers, 6-3, 6-4.

Next up for them is fifth seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, who edged past Dominic Inglot and Marcin Matkowski, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8. Inglot and Matkowski fought back from 2/7 to level the Match Tie-break at 7/7, but Rojer and Tecau hung on to prevail.

In a first round match on Thursday, Bernard Tomic and Viktor Troicki advanced via walkover over Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey. The Australian-Serbian pairing then lost against fourth seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 7-5.

Bernard Tomic is through to his first Western & Southern Open quarter-final with his second upset in as many matches, taking down No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori on Thursday. The unseeded Australian prevailed against the top-ranked Japanese player 7-6(1), 7-6(5), having downed No. 11 seed David Goffin in the previous round.

The win levels the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head record at 2-2 after Tomic had beaten Nishikori in the quarter-finals on home turf in Brisbane to start the season. He will next meet either top seed Andy Murray or South Africa’s Kevin Anderson for a place in the semi-finals.

Tomic sent down 10 aces and claimed 76 per cent of first-serve points in the near two-hour display. Nishikori was unable to carry the momentum of a break at 3-2 in the opening set, letting two set points slip serving for it at 5-4. Tomic, too, had a set point at 6-5 on the No. 5 seed’s serve before the tie-break was forced. The Aussie made good on his second chance, reeling off the last five points of the tie-break.

Again in the second set, Tomic was forced to hang tough. Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, he saved three set points to level and would close out the match on his second match point in the tie-break.

Earlier this month, the tennis world descended on Toronto for the Rogers Cup, where Canadian tennis was thrust into the spotlight. In the weeks since, the buzz has not subdued. Far from it.

From Denis Shapovalov’s breakthrough on the singles court – one of five Canadians to earn match wins in Toronto – to Daniel Nestor turning back the clock with Vasek Pospisil in doubles, Canada garnered all the headlines on home soil. But this was just a microcosm of the broader tennis movement that’s sweeping the country.

For the first time in eight years, four ATP Challenger Tour events reside in Canada. The addition to tournaments in Winnipeg and last week’s $75,000 in Gatineau, the widely successful events in
Drummondville and Granby have contributed to the growing popularity of the sport.

“It’s extremely exciting to have these events,” said Niagara Falls native Frank Dancevic, a two-time ATP World Tour singles finalist and three-time champion at the Challenger in Granby. “I remember growing up, there was only one Challenger in Canada. Now that we have the opportunity to play three or four Challengers a year, it’s great for guys like me and the young generation coming up to play in their backyard. We have an easier time picking our schedule and that’s so important to get an extra edge. For a young guy coming up and having the support of the home fans is huge.”

“There’s a different energy playing closer to home in Canada,” added Vancouver resident and 2015 Granby finalist Philip Bester. “For players to not have to travel very far and build their
[Emirates] ATP Ranking at home helps a lot financially. And for the younger generation, they can get top level exposure and get that experience at a young age without having to go very far. They have done an exceptional job in that respect and the tournaments are organised very well.”

For surging teenagers Shapovalov and Felix Auger Aliassime, two of most promising juniors in the world, it provides the opportunity to gain valuable experience against world-class competition and develop their talents on a global stage. Shapovalov, 17, became the first player born in 1999 to win a match on the ATP Challenger Tour earlier this year in Drummondville. He has soared to a career-high No. 250 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after advancing to the semi-finals in Gatineau.

“In Canada, especially in my province, it’s great to play at home and feel the support of the crowd,” said Auger Aliassime, who became the first player born in the 2000s to earn an Emirates ATP Ranking after qualifying in Drummondville last year. “It’s a pretty special feeling. When a lot of people come out to watch, they really carry you out there. It really motivates you and inspires you.”

As Australia’s John Patrick Smith can attest, many non-Canadians are just as impressed. The champion in Drummondville in 2015, Smith said: “I’ve won a few titles in Canada. I think the courts really suit my game in both summer and winter. In Drummondville, they put on a great tournament. The whole community came out and supported it really well. It was sold out on the final day.”

With the potential return of the recently departed $100,000 event in Vancouver, a favourite among all players that competed at the Hollyburn Country Club, the expansion is far from finished.