IT was one of those rare Andy Murray matches where, in the end, the tennis didn’t matter. The Scot is into the fourth round of the Australian Open after a four-set win over Joao Sousa of Portugal in a scratchy match in which he took almost three sets to shake himself out of early lethargy.

His 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory set up a last-16 clash with the sole remaining Australian, Bernard Tomic, but it was overshadowed by a health scare involving his father-in-law, Nigel Sears, 58, who was in a stable condition in hospital last night after collapsing at Melbourne Park.

Sears was trying to leave the Rod Laver Arena after the first game of the second set of the match between Ana Ivanovic, who he coaches, and Madison Keys when he collapsed in the stands. Murray was not told what had happened until he had completed his encounter with Sousa.

With Sears requiring treatment in the arena before being taken to hospital, Ivanovic and Keys left the court. They came back on about an hour later. Sears, who was reportedly conscious when he left in an ambulance, underwent a number of tests in hospital. He was reportedly well enough to ask for a TV so he could watch the end of Ivanovic’s match, which she lost.

But it was a surreal feeling to watch Murray, who looked like he had got out of the wrong side of the bed, battle with Sousa unaware of what was happening, while those in the crowd who had access to social media followed the updates.

Murray’s coach, Amelie Mauresmo, was spotted on the phone after the third set but the world No 2 did not find out until immediately after his match when, having been told he did not have to do an on-court interview, he saw his mother, Judy Murray.

Throwing his racquet bag over his shoulder, Murray immediately went to hospital to check on the condition of Sears, whose daughter Kim – Murray’s wife – is due to give birth to the couple’s first child early next month.

Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett, an assistant referee at the Australian Open, accompanied Sears in the ambulance. He said: “It was very worrying to begin with. When I saw him lying on the steps he looked so grey facially.

“They gave Nige an ECG in the ambulance on the way to hospital and another when he got there. The results of both of those were fine. Now they are doing some blood tests on him, which will more accurately determine what the problem is. I was a lot happier when I left the hospital than when I arrived. He was totally conscious and talking very normally. All he wanted to know was how Ana’s match was going. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is discharged from the hospital in the morning.”

Reports said there was a pool of blood where Sears collapsed. Jarrett said: “I’m not quite sure how all the blood ended up on the steps. I saw no sign of Nigel cutting his head at all but the sleeve of his tracksuit was bloodied and maybe the medics pushed something into his arm.”

Understandably, Murray was not required to fulfil his usual post-match media obligations but in a statement released through the tournament, Murray said he was relieved to win a match he found difficult from the start. “I thought I struggled,” he said. “At the beginning I think [Sousa] was extremely aggressive, very intense. He was getting into pos-ition 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.”

Murray spent most of the first two sets chuntering and moaning in the direction of his team, unhappy with anything and everything as Sousa made a match of it. The Portuguese, seeded 32, had won just one set in their previous six encounters but hit back well after the first set to level up, taking advantage of a lethargic Murray.

Four times the runner-up here, Murray looked like he knew he was going to win and could not get himself fired up for the battle, allowing Sousa too many chances to go on the attack.

But from the moment Murray broke in the first game of the third set, he calmed down and a break in the fifth game of the fourth set him on his way to a comfortable, if not convincing victory. “It was tricky, I didn’t feel great,” he admitted. “The match against [Sam] Groth, though I returned well, I didn’t get to hit that many groundstrokes.

“I didn’t feel I was in a great rhythm, wasn’t hitting the ball cleanly at the start. He was hitting the ball great, close to the lines and making me do lots of running. I just tried to keep fighting. At the end I was actually hitting the ball well and felt better at the end. It was good to get through that one.”

Fourth seed Stan Wawrinka, a possible semi-final opponent for Murray, cruised past Lukas Rosol 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 while Milos Raonic, John Isner and Gael Monfils also won. There was another good victory for Jamie Murray in the men’s doubles, too. He and Bruno Soares beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 7-5, 6-3 to reach round three.

Meanwhile, Tomic, who is due to face Murray tomorrow, has snapped back after being criticised by Roger Federer by claiming the Swiss is currently “nowhere near” the level of Novak Djokovic. During this month’s Brisbane International Federer questioned Tomic’s ambitions of reaching the top 10 in the world rankings, saying: “Many seasons now in a row we have seen or heard that’s the goal, and he’s missed out on it by a long shot.”

After seeing off fellow Australian John Millman 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 yesterday, Tomic, the world No 17, responded: “If he [Federer] believes I’m very far away from the top 10, I also believe my prediction that he’s nowhere near Novak’s tennis right now. But it motivates me. I’m going to work every day this year on getting to the top 10. And it’s not just getting there, it’s about staying there.”