World No 2 Murray cruises to last 16

LONDON - World No 2 Andy Murray marched into the last 16 of the men's singles by beating 32nd seed Tommy Robredo of Spain at Wimbledon Championships here on Friday.

The local hero and US Open champion won 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours, one minute on the Centre Court with its roof collapsed for rainfall.

It was Murray's third consecutive straight-sets victory and by some distance his most impressive so far at the 2013 Championships.

Andy Murray of Britain hits a return to Tommy Robredo of Spain in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London June 28, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

Murray, whose winning streak on grass is now 14, said it was a match in which every set got tougher. "But I hit the ball really, really well from the back of the court from the first game. But he's a really fit guy and fights for every single point and you need to be ready for that. But I played well, my best match of the tournament so far."

Asked what the departure of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal from his side of the draw had meant, Murray said, "There's a lot more pressure on me now with them being out but you need to be professional enough not to let the papers and stuff bother you and just concentrate on each match."

Sergiy Stakhovsky, who shocked seven-time champion Roger Federer in the second round, was eliminated 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 by Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

Stakhovsky, ranked 116th in the world, ended Federer's run of 36 successive quarterfinal appearances at the majors.

Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer reached the third round with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut.

"I had a little pain in my ankle but it's not a problem," said Ferrer, whose best result was reaching the last eight in 2012.

Bulgarian 29th seed Grigor Dimitrov went out 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 to Slovenia's Grega Zemlja in front of his girlfriend Maria Sharapova.

The match was suspended by rain on Thursday at 8-9 in the final set.

Britain's Laura Robson reached the third round of the women's singles with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Colombian qualifier Mariana Duque-Marino and next takes on Marina Erakovic of New Zealand.

Kaia Kanepi of Estonia, a quarterfinalist in 2010, beat German seventh seed and last year's semifinalist Angelique Kerber 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3.