WIMBLEDON -- Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Sam Querrey's stunning upset of No. 1 Novak Djokovic was one Andy Murray.
After beating Djokovic to win the Wimbledon title three years ago, the No. 2 seed has lost to him in five straight Grand Slam meetings, including the finals of this year's first two majors.
There's still some work to do, of course, but after Murray's buttoned-down 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 victory over the sometimes-volatile Nick Kyrgios, the Scot seems to have a favorable wind at his back into the final.
The odds-makers, who do this sort of thing for a living, have installed Murray as a rather prohibitive favorite.
"Every year I play here, it's not any different," Murray said of the pressure to win this tournament as a Scot playing in London. "I try my best to play my best and win my matches.
"Nick lost his focus in the middle part of the second set, and in the third, he was serving at a high percentage. But when I was able to get the ball back in play, I was able to dictate the rallies."
News flash: There was no drama in this Monday evening match, not a stitch. It was merely well-played dinner theater with Kyrgios on his best behavior, even laughing and chatting during the changeover after a blazing Murray forehand hit him in the heart.
Kyrgios has been a busy fellow this fortnight, keeping himself in the headlines of the grateful British tabloids. He's been fined for an obscenity, directed the R-word toward his box for a perceived lack of support and got into a spirited semantics argument with a reporter. That was just over the first three rounds.
In the fourth, Kyrgios ran into Murray, a player he considers a good friend. The explosive matchup was good fodder for the newspapers, but the match itself was something less than compelling.
Kyrgios has now lost all five of his matches against Murray and dropped 16 of 17 sets. For Murray, he improved to 19-0 against Australians in his career.
"As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost the belief," said Kyrgios, who prepared for the match by watching Australian Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt play doubles. "Obviously, it felt like a mountain to climb. Just a little soft still when things get tough. Ultimately, it comes down to just laying it all out there and competing for a long time. I didn't do that today at all."
After the last ball, Murray spent a moment with Kyrgios at the net, saying he was sorry.
"Just win the tournament," Kyrgios told him. "Please."
Kyrgios is only 21 years old, but he's already been to two major quarterfinals, including the 2014 edition of Wimbledon.
Murray simply wrecked him.
With Kyrgios serving at 4-5 in the first set, Murray swiftly earned three set points at love-40. After Kyrgios summoned two unreturnable serves, Murray's running forehand handcuffed him at net, and he couldn't land the volley that would have brought the game to deuce. It was a signature Murray shot, not only reaching a ball that some players wouldn't, but turning defense into offense with a flick of the wrist.
The second and third sets didn't go any better. In fact, they were worse.
Murray did not face a break point and hit 36 winners. His unforced errors were recorded as six -- giving him an astonishing plus-30 differential.
It was the ninth consecutive quarterfinal here for Murray, equaling the best efforts of Pete Sampras and John McEnroe. How consistent has Murray been at the Slams in general? This was the 21st quarter appearance in the past 22 he's played.
It was also the 50th match-win at the All England Club, two better than his coach, Ivan Lendl, and one ahead of Stefan Edberg and Goran Ivanisevic.
Murray is comforted by the familiar site of Lendl in his box. His two Grand Slams came with Lendl providing coaching support, and with Djokovic out of the picture, Murray has to be keen on his chances here.
He meets No. 12 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who benefited from a Richard Gasquet retirement six games into the match Wednesday. Murray has beaten Tsonga 10 of the 12 times they've played, twice here at Wimbledon.
"Every match is different in individual sport," Murray said, downplaying as usual. "A bad performance and you can easily lose. If [I] play as focused and solid as today, I have a chance."
Fat chance. He won't say it, but we will: Whoever Murray sees in the final -- Roger Federer, Marin Cilic, Sam Querrey or Milos Raonic -- in his own mind, he'll be the overwhelming favorite.