Murray momentum builds as Wimbledon reaches second week

Andy Murray thrilled his fans with a four set win over Ivan Ljubicic

Watching British tennis players is never an easy experience.

Like Tim Henman before him, Andy Murray provides plenty of drama in every match he plays, but unlike Henman Murray seems to have the talent to go all the way at Wimbledon.

For some reason, there are some Murray-haters who revel in shouting "Come on, Tim" before Murray serves, but those negative voices are beginning to be drowned out as true tennis fans realise a British win at Wimbledon may not be too far away.

The way Murray beat Ivan Ljubicic in four sets in the third round proved his temperament has improved markedly in recent years.

He lost the second set in disappointing fashion yet re-evaluated and took the third 6-1 in stunning style.

And when he failed to serve out the match when 5-4 up in the fourth, that was another major test for Murray.

However, he bounced back brilliantly to win the tie-break, beating a man playing just about as well as he could have.

Murray showed the character of a champion to overcome those knock-backs and if he continues to show similar character for another week, it may just be him lifting the title next Sunday.

Ljubicic served excellently throughout the match and credit must be given to him for making such a match of it.

Ljubicic rolled back the years with a stunning performance

Enormous praise must be given to the Croatian as the 32-year-old had waited his whole career for a chance to play on Wimbledon's Centre Court and he was not overawed by the occasion.

He just came up against a man who is fast improving and looks set to be a major challenger for the title.

Murray has now lost two sets in the tournament but his standard is improving and he had to play close to his best to defeat Ljubicic.

He never makes things easy for himself and it wouldn't be a Murray match without a bit of tension, but that was largely due to the Croatian's excellence rather than a lack of form on Murray's part.

Murray was a bit slack at the start of the second set but on the whole he played an excellent match. He is coping with the pressure brilliantly.

He is playing very well from the baseline and is still getting plenty of free points on his first serve, although he will need to get more first serves in as the tournament progresses.

He will also need to improve the quality of his second serve as Ljubicic found it quite easy to predict, but overall Murray should be very happy with his week's work and he can now look forward to a fourth round clash with Richard Gasquet.

One of the defining moments of Murray's victory over Ljubicic was his 'hot dog' half-volley shot deep in the fourth set.

Murray's 'hot dog' shot was loved by the crowd

He played the shot in the final at Queen's and has been criticised for playing it by ex-players such as John McEnroe, but the shot is entertainment for the fans rather than disrespectful to his opponent.

The fact he played it shows he is supremely confident at the moment because, as he said, he would have "looked a plonker" had he missed it.

The fans were already on his side before that but after it, they roared him to victory. It was the shot of a showman and the shot of a man trying to reach out to his fans.

He may not smile much on court but his personality shone through in that one shot and that is all that was needed to get everyone on his side.

In the big-pressure moments that followed, the crowd really helped Murray through and the huge roar which greeted the final point said it all. Most sane British tennis fans are truly behind Murray and his 'hot dog' shot is only serving to make him more popular.

If he is to use it in future matches, he will have to pick the right times to do it but he seems to have a good sense of when to use it and is very sensible with it.

On the whole, the crowd were excellent and right behind Murray, with the atmosphere helped by the closure of the roof.

Murray has now played (and won) three times under the Centre Court roof in his career

Centre Court is like a giant greenhouse when the roof is closed but it does help to generate an intimate environment where the fans can truly get involved.

The decision to build the roof has now been fully justified as it has provided some great matches this year and the late-night atmosphere seems to inspire the players.

Murray was certainly inspired and should beat Gasquet in the next round.

Frenchman Richard Gasquet awaits Murray in the next round

The pair had a marathon five-setter at Wimbledon in 2008 - with Murray winning after Gasquet went two sets up - but Murray is a much better player now. He is stronger, better in rallies and better from the baseline and this match should not be as close as three years ago.

Of course, it will probably not turn out that way as Murray's matches always seem to provide drama but it would be a major surprise if he did not take his place in the quarter-finals.

It is an extremely difficult task for him to win the tournament but with belief and a calm head, anything is possible.

He still gets too angry with himself at times during the match, punching his racket and shouting at his support group, and these sorts of instances need to be eradicated if he is to beat the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Murray described his first week's efforts as eight out of ten but he knows that will need to be ten out of ten next week if he is to win Wimbledon.

He is improving round by round but will need to be on the top of his game if he reaches the semi-final and final.

With the support of the nation behind him though, Britain's 75-year wait for a men's singles winner at Wimbledon may be about to come to an end.

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Bernard Tomic will become Australia's number one after the tournament

A new star was born at Wimbledon on Saturday as Bernard Tomic defeated fifth-seed Robin Soderling in straight sets.

Tomic, 18, has been known to keen tennis-watchers for some time and pushed Rafael Nadal hard in the Australian Open earlier this year, but this is his first major breakthrough and he now has a real chance of reaching the quarter-finals.

He faces Xavier Malisse in the fourth round - a 30-year-old now ranked 42 in the world - and the way he performed against Soderling will fill him with belief.

Tomic has a great backhand and should have a great future in the game, but was helped against Soderling as the Swede was clearly struggling with sickness.

He looked jaded between points and claimed he was dizzy and struggling to stand, so it is a real shame for him to exit the competition in this manner.

Nothing should be taken away from Tomic though as the Australian wowed the crowd on Court One and read the game magnificently.

He seemed to know where Soderling was going to serve every single time and that awareness will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career.

This will not be the last time we hear the name Bernard Tomic.

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Novak Djokovic was thrilled after overcoming gutsy Marcos Baghdatis

Saturday also saw one of the best games of the tournament so far with Novak Djokovic overcoming Marcos Baghdatis in four sets.

Baghdatis played brilliantly and by the end had the crowd eating out of his hand. It was almost as though he was a Brit.

The Greek showed great personality throughout the match but Djokovic was just too consistent for him in the end and he will be relieved to have come through a stern test.

It wasn't pretty at times from the Serbian - he got so angry during the second set he repeatedly smashed his racquet - but he is still a major contender for the championship.

The smashing of the racquet may have been an indication he is feeling the pressure of trying to live up to his great form but he is still playing very well and will be difficult to beat.

He will become the new world number one if he reaches the final and if he can keep some of his emotions in check, that is a very real possibility.