By Chris Oddo | Thursday November 3, 2016
Andy Murray continued his torrid tennis—and kept pace with Novak Djokovic in Paris as the race for No.1 continues—on Thursday at the Paris Masters.
More: Djokovic Rallies to Down Dimitrov in Three
The Scotsman notched his 17th consecutive victory, 6-3, 6-0 over promising Frenchman Lucas Pouille. Murray won the final eight games after Pouille had broken with a forehand pass to get back on serve in the opening set.
Murray won 18 of 23 points against Pouille’s second serve and raced to victory in 72 minutes. The World No.2 will continue his quest to overtake Novak Djokovic for the ATP’s top ranking on Friday when he meets either Tomas Berdych or Gilles Simon in the quarterfinals.
Murray tied a career-high by notching his 71st win of the season on Thursday. He has won 58 of his last 63 and could surpass Djokovic if he reaches the final and Djokovic loses on Friday to Marin Cilic, or if he wins the title and Djokovic fails to reach the final.
Pouille’s breakout season ends with a tough lesson at the hands of one of the game’s greats, but the Frenchman can hold his head high. He reached his first career Grand Slam quarterfinal and won five matches against the Top 10. Pouille notched 34 tour-level wins, claimed his first ATP title at Metz and is inside the Top 20 at No.17 in the world this week.
Murray improves to 41-6 on hardcourts with the win. He has reached the final in ten of his last eleven events.