Andy Murray beats Marcos Baghdatis to reach quarter-finals

Andy Murray moved to within one win of an Olympic medal shot after battling past Marcos Baghdatis to reach the men's singles quarter-finals.

Murray, who also beat Baghdatis in round three of Wimbledon, fought back from losing the first set to prevail 4-6 6-1 6-4 on Centre Court.

The world number four faces Nicolas Almagro of Spain in the last eight.

Murray's mixed doubles first-round match alongside fellow-Briton Laura Robson has been moved to Thursday.

They meet Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Radek Stepanek, with the 16-team draw meaning pairs need only two wins to enter medal contention.

However, his primary focus is the singles and Almagro after the world number 12 beat Steve Darcis of Belgium to advance.

Almagro won his first meeting with Murray, at the 2008 French Open, but has lost the subsequent two and has little grass-court pedigree.

"It will be a tough match," said Murray. "He's playing very good tennis just now. I need to play like I did in the second and third sets today to win that and I can't afford any more slow starts."

If anyone was unsure of how much the Olympics meant to Murray, they only needed to see his celebration after beating Baghdatis.

The Scot roared with delight and repeatedly pumped his fist, smiling to the crowd as he left a raucous Centre Court.

It seemed a mixture of relief and jubilation after he lost the first set.

Murray dropped serve in the opening game when Baghdatis dispatched an inside-out forehand winner on break point.

A wayward forehand levelled proceedings at 2-2, but Baghdatis targeted his opponent's forehand and struck in game seven before serving out.

But the world number 45 began to misfire just as Murray stepped up a gear, the Briton conceding only three points on serve in the second set.

He wrapped it up in just 31 minutes with some outstanding serves and ground his way through the decider to seal victory.

Murray later revealed he had taken inspiration from cyclist Bradley Wiggins winning the men's time trial earlier in the day.

"Literally right before we walked on court we saw Bradley Wiggins get the gold medal," he added. "That's the great thing about the Olympics, you get to watch the other sports.

"It gives you that extra bit of motivation to go out and try and be part of the medal count and do something for your country."