THE question was posed to Andy Murray half in jest, but after the events of the first five days here at the Australian Open, perhaps he needs to start thinking about the possibility. “What would it be like to face Dan Evans in the semi-finals?”

There was a flicker of a grin on the Scot’s face as he considered the possibility, something that was made possible first by Murray’s confident third-round 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey and then by Evans’ outstanding 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 win over Australian Bernard Tomic.

It’s no surprise Murray took his time to answer but when he did, he was full of praise for Evans, who is in the last 16 of a slam for the first time, putting two British men at that stage here for the first time since 2001.

“I think you've got to enjoy what he's doing just now and not put too much pressure on him,” said Murray, who takes on unseeded German Mischa Zverev in round four tomorrow.

“He plays [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga next, which is a pretty tough match. Tsonga is bloody good, but Dan’s making it difficult for everyone he plays against just now.

“It certainly won't be easy for [Tsonga] for sure. Dan moves extremely well and he competes really hard. He's confident just now. In that situation he doesn't have anything to lose.

“Who'd have thought 18 months ago, ranked 770 in the world, that he would now be playing Tsonga in the fourth round, who's been to the final here. The pressure is all on everyone else, so he'll do fine."

Novak Djokovic’s defeat by Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan on Thursday was as much of a shock to Murray as anyone else, even if the Scot said yesterday that maintaining the stratospheric level the Serb has reached for year after year was unrealistic.

Considering Djokovic has beaten Murray in four of the world No.1’s five finals here, with him gone, the immediate reaction was to give Murray the title, a situation he also felt at Wimbledon last summer when Djokovic lost to Querrey in round three.

But with a tough draw, Murray knows that nothing, absolutely nothing, can be taken for granted, not with Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka in his half.

"I don't really think about it much, to be honest,” he said. “I've been in this position before. I'm still aware of a lot of the guys in the draw.

“In my half, you've got Stan, who's got multiple slams, I lost to Kei at the US Open, now Roger is obviously there.

“These are all top 10 players and some of them grand slam winners. I know how difficult these events are to win. You never know what's going to happen; there could be upsets…so I don't think about it too much."

With the ankle he half-turned in round two not giving him any trouble, Murray moved his game up a level or two as he dismantled the big game of Querrey in real style.

Querrey, of course, beat Djokovic in round three at Wimbledon last year and began well, forcing a break point on the Murray serve at 3-3.

But Murray saved it and after that, it was one-way traffic to the point where Murray was showing off his favourite topspin lob, drawing Querrey forward and then flicking perfect lobs over his head.

It was a masterclass from Murray and at just one hour, 59 minutes, the perfect workout, long enough but not too long to take anything out of him as he heads towards the second week.

Should Murray go on to win the title here a week tomorrow, not only would he have four grand slam titles and a first Australian Open crown, he would also extend his lead at the top of the rankings to a healthy 3,500 points.

With Djokovic defending wins in Indian Wells and Miami last year, and Murray having very little to back up, he could easily be 5,000 points clear by the time he gets to the next grand slam, at the French Open.

If Murray and Evans were good, though, Roger Federer was breathtaking as he hammered Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 under the lights.

Having taken six months out through injury and looked a little scratchy at times in his opening two rounds, Federer turned on the style and is one win away from a potential clash with Murray.

First, he will play fifth seed Nishikori tomorrow and on the evidence of last night’s performance, he is in the mood to extend his grand slam return.

“I felt like I struggled in the first two rounds but I played great today,” Federer said. “It’s been unbelievable and I did surprise myself," he said.

“I guess I’m ready now. There’s no turning back. I like Kei, he is a good guy, I’m happy to play against him, he’s got maybe the best backhand in the game, so I’ll have my work cut out.”

On the women’s side, defending champion Angelique Kerber will play American Coco Vandeweghe tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals having played her best match of the week so far.

World No 1 Kerber took care of Kristyna Pliksova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-0 but Vandeweghe might be a threat after she impressed in beating former Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

Seventh seed Garbine Muguruza of Spain and Venus Willams moved through to the last 16 while eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova outlasted former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 5-7, 9-7 in three hours, 36 minutes.