Andy Murray took a firm stride towards a place at the exclusive top table of men’s tennis when he defeated the world number three and defending champion, Novak Djokovic, in straight sets, 6-3 7-6, in the quarter-finals of the Masters Series event in Toronto.

A delighted Murray said: “It was probably my best win. Against someone as good as him you can’t give him many errors, and he's one of the best tie-break players, so to win the tie-break like that [Murray led 6-1 and went on to win 7-3] was good as well.”

Murray was correct to identify the win as the best of his career. In four previous meetings with Djokovic, the Scot had won only one set and had been easily beaten in their most recent encounters. Djokovic, moreover, was playing on his favourite hard-court surface.

Born within a week of each other, Murray and Djokovic have long been identified as two of the most talented players of their generation. In the past year, Djokovic has stolen a march on Murray, winning the Australian Open as well as four Masters Series events and joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the summit of the game. Murray, clearly, is not far behind. The next measure of that gap is immediate: Murray’s semi-final opponent in Toronto is Rafael Nadal, who beat Richard Gasquet in three sets in their quarter-final.

One further and exciting judgment can be drawn from Murray's defeat of Djokovic: hard courts are the Scot’s best surface. That augurs well for the forthcoming Olympic Games and US Open, and indicates that if and when Murray wins a Grand Slam singles event, which is his major goal, it will most likely not be at Wimbledon but on hard courts, either at the US Open or the Australian Open.

Djokovic, who to his credit was magnanimous in defeat, can reflect that it was a bad evening of work for him, that he made far more errors than usual and that his forehand, in particular, became a liability. But it was instructive that during the periods, and rallies, in which Djokovic presented his best game, Murray matched him. And when Murray refused to yield to Djokovic’s much-vaunted hitting from the back of the court, the Serb seemed at a loss as to what to do. His game at times was made to appear one-dimensional, obvious.

For his part, Murray was more disciplined than he has been on occasion. He played a hard, no-nonsense match, cutting out the fancy and speculative. Perhaps the most telling fact was that it was not Murray but Djokovic who played several questionable, even desperate, drop-shots. That tactic, which was poorly executed as well as conceived, merely hastened Djokovic’s demise.

When Murray opened the match on serve, there was little sign that another big upset, to follow and match the defeat of Federer in his first match, the Swiss losing 2-6 7-5 6-4 against Frenchman Gilles Simon, was on the cards. Djokovic’s famous ability to return with interest just about any serve that is not a clean ace was immediately evident. Murray faced a break point, saved it and held serve. The first question had been answered, and when Murray faced another break point in his second service game, he made sure that the answer was equally firm.

“The first game was really key,” Murray said. “In the past against him, he has got ahead early and stayed on top of me. The last two times I played against him, he was much better than me. He played really, really aggressive. So this time I wanted to start well.”

Djokovic, though, was soon in trouble on his own delivery, and here again there was heartening evidence of Murray’s improvement. His own return of service was just as good as Djokovic’s.

Time and again, Murray returned the Serb’s serve emphatically, forcing him on to the back foot at the beginning of rallies. Djokovic lost his opening service game to love, and he threw in a pointless and losing drop-shot on the way. It was a sign of things to come.

Having secured the early break of service, Murray saw out the set with few problems. The pattern of the match was firmly established, with Djokovic making 15 unforced errors in the set, Murray just six. And Murray, who often prefers to defend and counter-punch, was the aggressor, the dictator. Here, he may have had Djokovic himself to thank, for in the past the Serb has criticised Murray for being too negative in his choice of tactics.

Just as relevant was the comfort with which Murray was able to trade blows from the back of the court. Usually, Djokovic is too fleet of foot, and too powerful and accurate, for any opponent save the very best. But Murray was his equal in speed and defence at full stretch and had the use of the best weapon on view: his double-handed backhand. It is a shot that looks merely solid, but one which is so well timed that it shocks opponents with its force. It was Djokovic who was most often forced to scramble.

The start of the second set, when the sun went down and the stadium lights burned bright, was the obvious juncture for Djokovic, a proud and determined character with the defence of his title on the line, to retrench. But he now lost another service game, the first of the set, by missing a volley on a rare forwards excursion.

In the next game, though, Murray’s serve was broken for the first time. That was clearly a setback but the game also saw Murray produce a succession of virtuoso and increasingly unlikely shots. Djokovic was at first dumbfounded, and then open in his admiration for Murray’s gifts, leading the applause. That was a mark of respect and more, and so was the excitement with which Djokovic celebrated his first break of service. “He has a lot of variety in his game,” Djokovic said. “He can change it up. He has a great touch.” All true.

When the tie-break arrived, Murray stood at the crossroads. If Djokovic, who was becoming more intense, and stronger, could take it, he would probably go on to win, to escape. But once again, indeed in the first point of the tie-break, it was Djokovic who cracked. Murray returned the groundstroke barrage until Djokovic, either bored or suffering a brainstorm, tried another drop-shot.

It cost him the point, and yet another drop-shot which missed three points later handed all the initiative to Murray. The remaining few points were largely a formality.

With style and fortitude, Murray, who is ranked ninth in the world, had cleared another significant obstacle on his path towards the summit. Ahead lie several more. One should remember, for example, that after another signal victory, against Gasquet at Wimbledon this year, Murray succumbed quite lamely and in straight sets to Nadal. The business of winning a Grand Slam event, over two weeks and seven best-of-five-set matches, is the most testing challenge of all, and it is one that Murray has thus far failed to come even close to managing.

These are turbulent times at the summit of the men’s game and Murray can take advantage. Federer appears bewildered after his French Open humiliation at the hands of Nadal, the same player who then dramatically wrenched the Wimbledon crown from the Swiss, and Djokovic, who began the year as the heir-apparent to Federer, is all of a sudden looking less convincing.

Nadal, of course, has become the main man and will soon be confirmed as such in the world rankings, but Murray is making a strong case to be considered almost as an equal in such elevated company. “I’m satisfied,” Murray said in understatement.

And so he should be.

ON TV TODAY

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MURRAY’S RECORD AGAINST BIG THREE

- Murray’s victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals was his first in five tries. All five matches have been in ATP Masters events - Madrid, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and now Toronto.

- He has played Roger Federer three times, winning twice: in Dubai this year and in the ATP Masters in Cincinnati in 2006. He lost in the final in Thailand in 2005.

- Before last night’s semi-final, Murray had played Rafael Nadal four times, losing the lot. They have met twice this year, Murray losing in straight sets at Wimbledon and Hamburg. Nadal also won in straight sets at the ATP Masters in Madrid last year. Their first meeting was at the 2007 Australian Open, when Murray led by two sets to one before going down in five sets.