Murray safely into week two

11:40am Sunday 29th June 2008

Andy Murray carried the British flag in to the second week of Wimbledon with another stirring performance as he defeated Tommy Haas on Centre Court.

The British number one defeated Germany's Haas 6-4 6-7 (4/7) 6-3 6-2 to take his place in the fourth round on Monday where he will take on France's Richard Gasquet.

The 21-year-old Scot said: "It was a good match. I had a chance to win in straight sets but played a poor service game. But he had few chances on my serve and I played very well. I was pleased with the way I managed to play in the tight situations. My mentality on court was very good."

He added: "The older you get, the more you get used to everything. I've got some good people around me and I'm just enjoying myself on court."

It was a match of fluctuating quality but one in which the fist-pumping Murray always provided the greater skill.

After losing the first six points of the match, Murray made a superb start, breaking the German's serve in the third game, courtesy of a precise crosscourt forehand and an audacious single-handed backhand on the run.

He clinched the set with an unreturnable serve and when he broke the German again in the third game of the second set, it looked as if Murray was in for an easy afternoon.

Haas' career has been plagued by injuries - three shoulder operations and two broken ankles to name just a few - and his lack of match practice appeared to be exposed. Suddenly, however, there was a shift in momentum which saw Haas up the aggression and break the Murray serve in the eighth game.

Murray threw in a double-fault at the most inopportune of moments in the subsequent tie-break to hand his opponent a lifeline. The Scot, however, is not without resolve and he showed just that in the third game of the third set, digging in when his serve was under threat and saving two break points in a game which went to five deuces.

He underlined that by breaking the Haas serve in the next game to regain his momentum. At that stage, the Murray serve was struggling for rhythm but Haas could not take advantage and the Scot held it together well to take the set.

Editors Choice