Andy Murray battles into Olympic Games quarter-finals

Andy Murray by Getty Images

Andy Murray has battled into the quarter-finals of the men's singles at the Olympic Games after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Marcos Baghdatis on Centre Court on Wednesday at Wimbledon.

The world No.4 recovered from a slow start to see off the Cypriot in three sets in what was a rematch of their third round encounter at The Championships, Wimbledon, only a few weeks before.

Murray said afterwards: "I was pretty unsure at the start, with the wind I didn't feel comfortable on court. But I got a lot better in the second and third sets and I'm pleased to have come through."

In the quarter-finals Murray will take on Spanish 11th seed Nicolas Almagro after he defeated Steve Darcis in straight sets on Wednesday.

"He's playing the best tennis of his career," continued Murray. "Top 10 in the world in singles. It's going to be a tough match for me and I need to play like I did in the second and third sets today to win that and I can't afford any more slow starts."

Finally the British No.1 and member of Team GB commented on how he was inspired by Bradley Wiggins winning a GB gold moments before his match:

"Literally right before we walked on court we saw Bradley Wiggins get the gold medal. That's the great thing about the Olympics, you get to watch the other sports. It gives you that extra bit of motivation to go out and try and be part of the medal count and do something for your country."

Murray's mixed doubles match, alongside Laura Robson, against Stepanek & Hradecka (CZE) was postponed until Thursday after rain delayed the outside courts on day 5 of the Olympic tennis at Wimbledon.

Olympic Tennis - Day 5 Highlights

Big Names

Second seed Novak Djokovic had to fight from a set down to see off former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 and book his place in the quarter finals. He will next play fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the Frenchman came through two tight sets against Feliciano Lopez, while World No.1 Roger Federer defeated Denis Istomin 7-5, 6-3 and set up a quarter final with John Isner who saw off Janko Tipsarevic.

In the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova came through a titanic battle with Sabine Lisicki 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3 to avenge her Wimbledon defeat to the German and book a blockbuster quarter-final against Kim Clijsters. Top seed Victoria Azarenka edged out Nadia Petrova 7-6(6), 6-4 and will next face 7th seed Angelique Kerber who ended Venus Williams’ campaign with a 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win.

Upsets

Japanese No.1 Kei Nishikori upset fourth seed David Ferrer 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 to move through to the quarter finals. The match was halted on Court 14 due to bad light with Nishikori leading 5-4 and was then moved to Centre Court where the 15th seed duly broke Ferrer’s serve to 15 to move through to a quarter final meeting with Juan Martin Del Potro.

In the men’s doubles the title defence of Roger Federer & Stanislas Wawrinka was ended in the second round as the Swiss sixth seeds were beaten 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 by Israel’s Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich.

Done and Dusted

Wimbledon champion Serena Williams was in dominant form to crush Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0 in just 51 minutes on Centre Court. The 4th seeded American struck 32 winners to just 8 unforced errors as she sealed a place in the last eight where she will take on Caroline Wozniacki.

The Epic

A day after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic broke Olympic records, on day five records were broken on the doubles court. Returning to the court on Wednesday at 18-18 in the decider Brazilian’s Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares completed a 1-6, 6-4, 24-22 victory of the Czech team of Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek. The final set lasting three hours and 11 minutes was the longest doubles set in Olympic tennis history and the total of 63 games was the most in an Olympic doubles match.