No drama as Murray downs Nieminen
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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 No 41 Nieminen in the first game and then hammering home his advantage 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.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams underlined her desire for a fourth Olympic gold medal as the American raced into the third round with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Canada’s Aleksandra Wozniak. Playing on her favourite stage — Centre Court at Wimbledon — Williams dominated with her aggressiveness, which is what makes her so dangerous on grass. She broke Wozniak six times in eight games. “Every day I’m just concentrating on trying to bring my best tennis out,” Williams said. “And honestly, if there’s a time to do it, it’s now.” —Agencies
Results: Singles: Rd 2: Men:
M Baghdatis bt R Gasquet 6-4 6-4, A Murray bt J Nieminen 6-2 6-4, G Simon bt G Dimitrov 6-3 6-3, J Isner bt M Jaziri 7-6 6-2, J del Potro bt A Seppi 6-3 7-6; Women: A Kerber bt T Bados 6-1 6-1, V Williams bt A Wozniak 6-1 6-3, C Wozniacki bt Y Wickmayer 6-4 3-6 6-3
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