Defending champion Andy Murray made short work of his visit to Wimbledon’s Court One as he thrashed Slovenian Blaz Rola to reach the third round. The Briton took advantage of his early start on the second show court to win 6-1 6-1 6-0 in one hour and 24 minutes, heading off court at 14:36 BST.

He will play Spanish 27th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Czech Jan Hernych, in the last 32 on Friday.
“I played well today,” the third seed told BBC Sport. “This is the first year he’s played on grass. He’s just come out of college and broken into the top 100. “It was tough for him, because he doesn’t have a lot of grass-court experience, but he’ll definitely keep improving. I had to concentrate on my side of the net today, though.”

Murray played on Court One at the same stage last year, and Rola, the world number 92, met the same fate as Yen-Hsun Lu 12 months ago. The Scot grabbed the initiative in the opening moments, capitalising on a Rola double fault with a blistering backhand winner to break serve after just three minutes. A deft backhand lob and a forehand pass helped Murray move 4-1 clear and a third break of serve followed as he wrapped up the set in 27 minutes. Rola, 23, was trying to win back-to-back matches at the top level for the first time, having joined the tennis tour on a full-time basis only last year, but Murray was hardly the best opponent to face in such circumstances.

The Slovenian did create break points early in the first two sets but each time Murray fired down aces, and the third seed’s proficiency against left-handers meant he was constantly threatening. Winning just 16% of points on his second serve, Rola saw the second set race away and there were smiles from both the player and his supporters when he finally got on the board after losing the opening five games.

It did not herald a fightback and Murray clinched the second set on the hour mark, before breaking for the sixth and seventh times with thumping forehand winners threaded down the line. The occasion appeared to be a bit too much for Rola by the time he double-faulted twice in succession to fall 5-0 behind in the third set, and Murray played a clinical final game to close it out to love.

“Getting games finished quickly helps,” said Murray.
“I feel like that cost me a little bit at the French Open – not that I would necessarily have beaten Rafa [Nadal, in the semi-finals], but I played a lot of sets and in a lot of those sets, I was up. “If you can finish matches as quickly as possible, it helps. I’m sure she [Amelie Mauresmo, Murray’s coach] will be happy with that, but we’ll have a chat this afternoon. I’ll rest up and get ready for the next round.”

Courtesy: BBC TENNIS