The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsAndy Murray is through to the semifinals of the Olympics in Rio as the defending champion edged out Steve Johnson 6-0 4-6 7-6. The Brit was in ominous form in the early part of the match as he overwhelmed his opponent to take the first set, but Johnson improved and fought back to force a decider. However, despite going down a break in the final set, Murray dug deep and eventually dominated the tiebreak to seal a tough win.
In the opening set, Murray made a strong start as he held his first game before seizing the early break when Johnson committed a double fault. The world number two quickly consolidated it to forge ahead 3-0, as Johnson struggled to match his opponent in the baseline rallies. The American was forced to concede another break following a forehand error, and Murray maintained his solid form to open up a commanding 5-0 lead. The Brit was overall too strong as he continued to outlast as well as outmanoeuvre his opponent, and Johnson was unable to register a single game as Murray broke once more to clinch a very routine set.
As the second set unfolded, Johnson upped the aggression early on and his attacking play was rewarded in the first game of the set when Murray placed a backhand wide to fall behind a break. The American capitalised on his high level of tennis to hold his serve for a 2-0 lead, and even though Murray reduced the deficit, he failed to convert on a break point opportunity at 3-2 as Johnson survived to keep his advantage intact. The Brit forced his opponent to eventually serve out the set, but a single break was enough for Johnson to easily close it out to take the match to a third set.
In the deciding set, both players held serve comfortably to keep the scoreline tight, as Johnson continued to pose a threat with his huge forehand. At 3-3, Murray offered a break point opportunity to his opponent with a forehand error and Johnson fully capitalised, sealing the break with an exquisite lob winner to move ahead 4-3. However, in the following game, the Brit responded to retrieve the break back, before saving a break point to hold his serve for a 5-4 lead. Johnson though battled hard to level the scoreline and stood firm to eventually take the set to a tie-break. In the tie-break, it was Murray who took control to build a healthy lead and Johnson was unable to recover, as the Brit clinched the victory with an overhead smash to progress into the semifinals.
In the semifinals, Murray will take on Kei Nishikori as the Japanese star saved match points in a third set tiebreak before ousting Gael Monfils 7-6 4-6 7-6.
However, Johanna Konta’s run at the tournament was brought to an end by Angelique Kerber, as the Brit produced an erratic display to go down 6-1 6-2. Kerber will play Madison Keys in the semifinals, as the American swept past Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.
In addition, Petra Kvitova eliminated the conqueror of Serena Williams by defeating Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-0, and the Czech will face Monica Puig in the last four.
Also, Rafael Nadal recovered from a set down to prevail 2-6 6-4 6-2 against home favourite Thomaz Bellucci and the 2008 Beijing gold medallist will face Juan Martin Del Potro in the last four, as the Argentine defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets.
