Murray survives scare, Nadal breezes through to quarters

Murray won 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 after rallying back from a 3-0 third-set deficit against Fognini, who won eight straight games before the Briton regained control of the encounter.

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates his hard-fought victory over Fabio Fognini of Italy.

Defending champion Andy Murray survived a scare to reach the quarterfinals of the men’s Olympic tennis tournament with a three-set victory over Italian Fabio Fognini on Thursday.

Murray won 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 after rallying back from a 3-0 third-set deficit against Fognini, who won eight straight games before the Briton regained control of the encounter.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal also booked his spot in the last eight with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Frenchman Gilles Simon.

The Olympic tennis tournament has been marked by some major upsets in the opening rounds and both Murray and Nadal were tested on Thursday, in gusty conditions after rain delays had cancelled play on Wednesday.

Murray is favourite to clinch a second straight gold medal following the first-round exit of world number one Novak Djokovic to Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro.