Murray beats Wawrinka in thriller

Andy Murray beat Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in a tense five-set contest at Wimbledon to advance to the quarter finals of the tournament for the second consecutive year.

The World no 3 was pushed all the way, taking three hours and 57 minutes to finish off the Swiss challenger, who is ranked fifteen places below him in the men's standings, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

The match on Centre Court was the first at Wimbledon to be played entirely under the newly installed roof. Murray will go on to play the unseeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarter finals on Wednesday.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Kevin Eason, the Times: "This was Wimbledon for the 21st century, the Centre Court bathed in light with Murray playing under carefully controlled conditions late into the night, the epic contest engaging not just the 15,000 spectators in the extraordinary new stadium but an entire nation. Those who saw it will talk of this night for years to come. Murray, though, criticised the authorities for not giving the players enough time to prepare to play under the roof for the first time and complained that the atmosphere was hot and humid and the court heavy."

Mark Hodgkinson, Daily Telegraph: "Playing indoors supposedly helps Murray to establish a rhythm on his serve, as he does not have to worry about the wind or the glare from the sun as he tosses up the ball. That was the theory, anyway. The reality was that Murray wasn’t hitting the ball cleanly in the opening stages of his first grass-court meeting with Wawrinka, the world No 18 and Switzerland’s best player after Roger Federer. Early on, Murray was desperately searching for his touch, like someone trying to locate a piece of bread at the bottom of a fondue. In the first set, Wawrinka was hitting almost everything off the honey-spot of his strings, and Murray plainly wasn’t."

Steve Bierley, the Guardian: "Murray, aware of his opponent's fragile temperament, increased the tempo and urged the crowd to increase their support. The response was intense, just at it had been at this stage last year when Murray came back from two sets down against Richard Gasquet of France. He broke Wawrinka for a 5-3 lead and clinched the second set with an ace. Wawrinka again put pressure on Murray towards the middle of the third set, and once again Murray shrugged it off to take the lead. There was an understandable easing of tension, and perhaps Murray was caught up in it. An errant forehand prevented him from taking a 5-3 lead in the fourth set, and suddenly the match swung back in Wawrinka's favour. Murray squandered a 3-0 final set lead, but on wearying legs he prevailed." ·