Andy Murray beats Stanislas Wawrinka to progress
- Published
Britain's Andy Murray delighted the home crowd with a confident victory over Stanislas Wawrinka in round one of the Olympic singles at Wimbledon.
Murray suffered a shock first-round loss in Beijing four years ago, but made no mistake against Swiss flag-bearer Wawrinka under the Centre Court roof.
The third seed beat his 29th-ranked opponent 6-4 6-3 to set up a second-round meeting with Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, who beat India's Somdev Devvarman 6-3 6-1.
Heather Watson and Laura Robson were also scheduled to play singles on a rain-affected Day Two, while Anne Keothavong and Elena Baltacha were due to meet Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Gronefeld in the doubles.
However, play was cancelled for the day shortly after 20:00 BST and remaining matches moved to Monday after the grass was adjudged too slippery to play on.
Watson will meet Spanish clay-court specialist Silvia Soler Espinosa, while Robson faces Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
The sporadic downpours could result in a significant backlog for tournament organisers, while further poor weather is forecast next week.
But it may not concern Murray, who reached the recent Wimbledon final despite his route being hampered by adverse conditions.
Back at the scene of his defeat by Roger Federer in that showpiece - and with Federer watching from the stands in support of Swiss team-mate Wawrinka - the Scot ensured a happier ending to remain in contention for an Olympic medal.
Murray has talked about his determination to right the wrongs of 2008, when he was upset by 77th-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu., external His display against Wawrinka was ruthless.
"I was disappointed with the way I played in Beijing," he said. "I didn't understand what the Olympics meant to me, it was my first time there and I was so excited to be there.
"I know how much that loss hurt me and I wanted to come here best prepared as I could be and today was a good start."
Murray engineered three break points early in the first set. Although none were taken, he broke serve for 5-3 and served out to love with an ace.
The British number one was receiving hearty support from the crowd, many of whom waved Union flags, and he struck in game one of the second set to take total control.
A slight lapse in concentration allowed Wawrinka to earn chances, but Murray served his way out of trouble and was soon 6-3 5-3 in front.
Chants of "Murray! Murray!" rang around the arena and the 25-year-old sealed his progress when Wawrinka, a doubles gold medallist with Federer in Beijing,, external put a backhand long.
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