Joao Sousa
Murray lost second set to his Portuguese opponent but came through in third and fourth sets. Getty

Andy Murray has seen off a spirited Joao Sousa to seal his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Murray, 27, breezed through his opening set but his Portuguese opponent came roaring back in the second. The Briton recovered however to seal a 6-2 3-6 6-2 6-2 win, setting up a fourth round clash against either Bernard Tomic or John Millman.

During Murray's win, his father-in-law Nigel Sears collapsed while watching former world number 1 Ana Ivanovic take on Madison Keys.

Sears, 58, was carried out on a stretcher but is now conscious after being taken, to hospital, according to BBC Sport.

Murray dominated the opening set but was broken in the opening game of the second as Sousa drew level, looking to cause an upset. Murray's responded in style, however, breaking his opponent's serve twice in the fourth set to seal a rather comfortable victory.

"I thought I struggled," Murray admitted. "At the beginning I think he was extremely aggressive, very intense. You know, so he was getting into position to dictate a lot of points with his forehand.

"Once I started to hit the ball a little bit cleaner towards the end of the match I was able to get him in his backhand corner and dictate more of the points."

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