Sky Sports.com - Wimbledon 2008

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    Roger Federer

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    • Nationality: Swi
    • Birth Date: 08/08/81
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Murray charges into last 32

Dangerous Haas awaits British number one

  • Murray: Outstanding

    Murray: Outstanding

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Andy Murray was in outstanding form as he cruised past Xavier Malisse to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

The British number one won 6-4 6-2 6-2 against his regular practice partner to set up a meeting with Germany's Tommy Haas - a straight-sets winner against Tommy Robredo.

Murray took just one hour and 33 minutes to dispatch the 27-year-old Belgian to the delight of the Centre Court crowd.

Such was the destructive quality of Murray's big serving and punishing groundstrokes that the weight of expectation on the packed Wimbledon hill can only have increased.

One heavy serve clocked in at 136mph and some of his returns must have been not far behind as he pummelled Malisse on both wings.

Humiliating

The pair have been practice partners in the past and knew each other well but not even Malisse - a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2002 - could have expected to have been swept aside in such humiliating fashion.

Murray said: "I served really well, lost concentration in the second set and in the middle of the third but played well throughout.

"In the past, I've had some long ones so it's nice to get off the court in straight sets."

The British number one used his favourite drop shot to good effect and his big forehand was also in evidence as he broke the Malisse serve in the fifth game and then closed out the first set with one big ace and a savage smash.

The winning momentum increased, Murray breaking the Belgian's serve in the first game of the second set with a punishing backhand winner.

Malisse leaked another break of serve in the third game and there seemed an inevitability to the contest until the Belgian finally woke up and broke the Murray serve in the eighth game.

The Scot responded immediately with another break of his own, helped by Malisse, who left a volley only to see it clip the sideline.

When Murray broke serve once more in the opening game of the third set, the contest was effectively over, although Malisse did mount something of a revival as the Murray concentration dipped halfway through the set.

The end came inevitably but bizarrely with Murray's 16th ace, which Malisse challenged.

A minute or so of confusion ensued as the umpire failed to call for the video technology.

When he did, Murray was through and a British feelgood factor was swirling around SW19.

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