Murray had to beat Santoro to maintain his Masters Cup challenge
British number one Andy Murray kept his Masters Cup hopes alive by beating Fabrice Santoro to reach the Paris Masters quarter-finals on Thursday.
Murray, 20, breezed past French veteran Santoro 6-4 6-2 and next faces either Richard Gasquet or James Blake.
Only the top eight players in the ATP Race qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.
The young Scot, who began the week 11th in the standings, is chasing one of the two remaining places.
"Santoro is one of my favourite players to watch," he said afterwards. "I won't see a style like his for the rest of my career.
I don't feel like there's as much pressure on me as on the other guys
Andy Murray
"I felt like I was in a rhythm. I'd got used to Centre Court and played well."
Although Fernando Gonzalez is a long way ahead at seventh in the Race, Murray - who won his third career title in St Petersburg on Sunday - was only three points behind Tommy Haas in the eighth and last qualifying spot at the start of the week.
Gasquet, Blake, Mikhail Youzhny, Guillermo Canas, Fernando Gonzalez, Tomas Berdych and Marcos Baghdatis are also still in contention for the final two places.
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