Murray and Robson shine as Stakhovsky falls off his cloud

By Martyn Herman and Toby Davis
Sergiy Stakhovsky tumbled from cloud nine at rainy Wimbledon on Friday as the man who dethroned Roger Federer returned to relative obscurity, but number two seed Andy Murray and British teenager Laura Robson were in no mood to waste the spotlight.
The sweet spot of Murray’s racket was put through its paces as he signed off his first week by stylishly dispatching Spain’s Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-4 7-5 to move into the last 16.
No prizes are awarded for hitting top form in the third round but Britain’s number two seed can be satisfied with the way he outplayed 29th ranked Robredo with his aggressive ball striking.
Murray broke for the first time in the third game of the first set against the number 32 seed and followed that with two more to close out the opener.
A rasping backhand pass delivered another break at the start of the second set and, apart from a brief moment of vulnerability as he was serving it out, the Scot never looked like relinquishing control.
The 31-year-old Robredo, who had never been past the third round in 12 appearances at Wimbledon, upped his aggression levels in the third set but found Murray’s defences watertight.
Murray, aiming to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, broke in the 11th game and wrapped up the win when Robredo netted a backhand on his second match point.
Waiting for Murray will be the winner of the match between Russia’s number 20 seed Mikhail Youzhny and Serbia’sViktor Troicki.
Wimbledon’s Centre Court roof operators were busy as Day Five of the championships began in soggy fashion and the canopy was in place for Robson as she served up a tasty starter.
Robson, who along with Murray was one of only two home players to reach the second round of the singles, had been upgraded to the main show court after her match with Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino was delayed the night before.
A powerful 6-4 6-1 victory justified her top-billing and made sure Murray, bidding to become the first British man to win the title since 1936, did not have to shoulder the hopes of a nation alone yet.
Two days after Stakhovsky caused one of Wimbledon’s greatest upsets by taking out Federer in a ‘Wednesday Wipeout’ of seeds and former world No.1s, he failed to hit the heights in a 6-2 2-6 7-5 6-3 third-round defeat by Austrian Jurgen Melzer on a drizzly Court Three.
The shelf life of giant-slayers has proved a short one so far at the championships with Ukraine’s Stakhovsky, the world No.116, going the same way as Rafa Nadal’s conqueror Belgian Steve Darcis who withdrew injured from his next match.
Portugal’s Michelle Larcher De Brito, who stunned former women’s champion Maria Sharapova on Wednesday, was unable to avoid a similar anti-climax when she lost 7-5 6-2 to Italy’s Karin Knapp in her third round match.
Sharapova’s vocal chords were still working yesterday though as she continued to support Bulgarian boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov in his rain-interrupted battle against Slovenian Grega Zemlja.
“At a few points I heard Maria screaming behind my back which wasn’t very pleasant!” Zemlja, the 26-year-old son of a former ski jumper, told reporters.
“It was after the points not during the points though.”
He was not distracted and held on to beat 29th seed Dimitrov, winning 3-6 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 11-9, having resumed at 9-8 ahead in the decider after rain had delayed the start of play on the outside courts.
World number four David Ferrer avoided any mishaps as he moved into the third round with a straight sets victory over fellow Spaniard Robert Bautista Agut. He will face Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov in the third round.
Pole Jerzy Janowicz, the 24th seed lurking dangerously in the bottom half of the draw, gave a vivid demonstration of his talent on Centre Court to reach round four for the first time, overpowering Spanish 15th seed Nicolas Almagro to set up a clash with Melzer.