Britain’s Andy Murray progressed to the third round of the Olympics without any drama as the world number four defeated Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who hit 26 winners to Nieminen’s six, will face Cyprus’s Marcos Baghdatis in the last 16 in a rematch of this year’s late-night Wimbledon third round clash. Murray laid down an early marker in a match played under the Centre Court roof due to rain, breaking world number 41 Nieminen in the first game and then hammering home his avantage with a second break for a 4-1 lead. With the first set in the bag, Murray looked to finish off Nieminen and a break in the opening game of the second set put him within sight of victory. Wimbledon runner-up Murray had too much grasscourt class for the Finnish left-hander and he easily served out the win to keep his bid for a first Olympic gold medal on track. Murray’s last meeting with Nieminen, at the French Open earlier this year, had prompted former Wimbledon champion Virginia Wade to call the Scot a “drama queen” after he appeared to exaggerate the effects of a back injury before suddenly storming back to win in four sets. AFP
