Andy Murray in action against Stephane Robert. Source: Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
ANDY Murray spent nearly as long dissecting his racquet-smashing technique as he did analysing his victory.
The post-mortem was understandable given how rare the Scot's violent display was and the level of frustration lucky loser Stephane Robert sparked in him.
"Sometimes it's necessary," explained Murray after breaking his racquet when he dropped a set for the first time in the tournament during his 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2 win over the Frenchman, which set up a quarter-final against Roger Federer.
"Losing that set was frustrating because it obviously means you're out there another 30, 40 minutes at least, when I would preferably have been in the locker room.
"My racquet bit the dust. Unfortunate for it."
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Murray, who could not remember the last time he smashed his racquet, went on to demonstrate dryly how "a lot of guys sort of hold it by the throat and kind of throw it face down".
"That's how you would throw it if you didn't want to break the racquet. Whereas if you just go flat with the frame, or if you just hit the frame like that, the racquet's gone straightaway," he added.
"It's not something as a player you're particularly proud of but sometimes, you know, you just need to get some frustration out."
The source of Murray's grief, 33-year-old Robert, only scraped into the main draw when Philipp Kohlschreiber pulled out injured.
He played some stirring tennis once he found his touch in the third set, which led to some entertaining rallies and forced a thrilling tiebreak.
Andy Murray and lucky loser Stephane Robert cross paths at a change of ends. Source: Getty Images
Despite squandering five match points, the first with a double fault while leading 5-4 in the third set, Murray was happy with his performance, racquet-smashing aside.
"I dominated 95 per cent of the match, and for 15 minutes didn't close the match out," said the No.4 seed, who booked his fifth straight Australian Open quarter-finals berth.
"It was pretty good for the most part. He's a tricky guy to play against.
"A lot of guys now when they're on the run, they'll chip and play a higher ball and try and keep themselves in the rally, whereas he kind of goes for broke a bit."
Murray, who is continuing his return from back surgery which ended his 2013 season early, holds an 11-9 win-loss record against Federer.
The animated Robert was pleasantly surprised to receive a hearty ovation as he left Hisense Arena after the match against Murray lasting two hours and 42 minutes.
"I'm happy. People enjoy see my game today so, yeah, it was a great, great feeling for sure," he said.
There was more consolation for Robert, whose ranking of 119 is projected to rise to around the No.74 mark on the back of his performance at Melbourne Park.
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