Next up for three-time grand slam victor Murray in the defence of his Olympic title is a meeting with either France’s Benoit Paire or Fabio Fognini of Italy, who play each other this evening.
Advertisement
With world number one Novak Djokovic out of the men’s singles following his first-round exit against Juan Martin del Potro, Murray will now be fancied to go on and retain his gold medal in Brazil.
Murray entered the match with a 3-2 record against the feisty Argentine, but he was never in serious danger during the encounter.
Monaco, ranked 107 in the world, provided little threat to the defending champion, with a break in the fifth game of the opening set the only dent in Murray’s serve.
Del Potro produced a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa, before heading back out on court with partner Maximo Gonzalez and getting beaten by Marc Lopez and Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. First of all, Fognini has two match wins over Murray – one in Canada 2007 and another on the clay courts of Naples at a Davis Cup Quarter-Final.
Team GB’s Johanna Konta continued her superb Olympic debut by beating No. 8 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 to reach the quarterfinals in the women’s singles.
The second set was even more lopsided as Murray secured a 4-0 lead.
Konta, who will link up with Andy’s older brother Jamie in the mixed doubles, expressed her relief after coming through a dramatic match with Kuznetsova.
The Scot, who also saw his potential quarter-final opponent David Ferrer lose on Tuesday, said: “It was obviously surprising”.
The draw paired Jamie and Konta with American duo Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock. “I just expect to enjoy the Olympic experience again and that’s what I am doing”. I think Murray is the favourite but Fognini may play some inspired tennis in phases of this match. “I hit the ball well from the back of the court, not many unforced errors so it was a good match”, said Murray.
In the last eight, the 25-year-old will play either second seed Angelique Kerber or Australia’s Sam Stosur.
Advertisement
French Open champion Muguruza was the major casualty of the day, losing 6-1 6-1 to Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig.
