Andy Murray's progress through this busy and very different Olympic tennis tournament continued without fuss on the sixth day but now it gets serious: a semi-final on Friday against Novak Djokovic.
If he plays like he did in dismissing the 11th seed Nicolás Almagro in two quick, brutal sets, 6-4, 6-1, he has a fine chance at taking home better than bronze. If Djokovic plays like he did in beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-1, 7-5, well, the Serb may struggle. He dropped a set against the ageing but determined Lleyton Hewitt on Wednesday and let his concentration slip, going behind 0-3 in the second set before the Frenchman let him back into the match.
The crowd loved it all. This is not Wimbledon, it is the Olympics and the contrasts have been stark: a more frivolous, raucous atmosphere in the stadiums, but a lack of grandeur overall, as if we had all been kept in after school.
Murray tip-toed around the issue when asked if doing well here – alongside other British success elsewhere in the Games – would give the country a lift in difficult economic times.
"I don't know what it does to help the economy," he said. "I know what it does to help the athletes and it gives [us] a sense of togetherness. From what I've seen, the whole of the country has got right in the Olympics, which is great.
"I know there are a lot of people that think tennis isn't necessarily an Olympic sport but I know how much I care about it. I really enjoy being part of a team and playing for my country."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/02/andy-murray-nicolas-almagro-olympics
