Andy Murray came through a topsy-turvy match against Stanislas Wawrinka at the Toronto Masters last night to set up a quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, the defending champion. The British No 1 seemed to be cruising to victory when he took the first set, but his Swiss opponent stormed back in the second before Murray ground out a 6-2, 0-6, 6-4 victory.

Murray will need to play much better if he is to upset Djokovic, who has beaten him five times in succession and lost only ten games in their past three meetings.

The Scot revealed that he used his previous meetings with Wawrinka to keep his motivation up in the third set. “I’ve played ‘Stan’ quite a few times, we’re really good friends,” he said. “When I have played him he’s struggled a bit to close the matches out, so I knew I had to keep fighting and I found some first serves when I needed them and made a few key returns.”

The deciding set was a close affair that swung Murray’s way when he broke in the seventh game, going on to serve out the match to love.

On a blustery centre court, Djokovic continued his rock-solid play by easing past Robin Söderling, of Sweden, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last eight. “I played as much as I needed, in the important moments I hit some good shots,” Djokovic, who can count the Australian Open among his three title triumphs this season, said.

Roger Federer lost on his first outing since surrendering his Wimbledon title to Rafael Nadal and, in so doing, offered a reminder of his fallibility. Federer was beaten 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 by Gilles Simon, the world No 22 from France. Federer twice led by a break of serve in the final set, but, as he has found increasingly this year, such an advantage is not enough to guarantee victory. The 26-year-old’s face may have betrayed how he really felt, but his determination to fix what is wrong with his game remains publicly strong. “It’s important to stay positive,” Federer said. “The hard-court season has just started and we have nine months of it. It’s not the end of the world, but I wish it could have started better. I’ve got to regroup. The bigger picture is the Olympic Games and the US Open. Those are really the places where I want to win.”

Nadal recovered from a shaky start in his opening match to defeat Jesse Levine, the American, 6-4, 6-2. The Spanish world No 2 entered the tournament 770 ranking points behind Federer and could cut that lead to 275 if he wins the title, as he did in 2005.

A racket-smashing Andy Roddick was shocked 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 by Marin Cilic, the highly talented 19-year-old Croat. Cilic disposed of the No 6 seed in just under two hours and Roddick, contesting only his seventh match since injuring his back at the Rome Masters in early May, seemed baffled by his opponent’s explosive power.

After dropping the opening set, Roddick broke his No 44-ranked opponent at 5-4 to take the second and even the match but could not carry the momentum into the decider as Cilic broke the 2003 champion to take control.

It would be the only break that Cilic would need, holding off an increasingly frustrated Roddick, who spent parts of the set arguing with the umpire and smashing his racket.

“Something doesn’t feel comfortable,” the American said. “It’s a little bit across the board. My forehand is just not doing anything. I’m missing it and that’s the one that I need to click right now.”