Andy Murray dumps Tommy Haas to keep Wimbledon dream alive

Jun 29 2008 George Cheyne

THEY think it's all over - it is now.

Andy Murray survived a few scares and showed England's footballing heroes of 1966 how it's done with a gutsy win over German Tommy Haas.

The 21-year-old Scot, cheered on by Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst from the Centre Court's royal box, took two hours 34 minutes to beat the former world No.2 6-4 6-7 6-3 6-2.

It's a victory that sets up a mouthwatering fourth-round clash with Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Murray, who has now taken the scalps of Haas, Fabrice Santoro and Xavier Malisse, has a realistic chance of beating Gasquet and going further than he has ever gone before.

There was an air of expectation around the sun-kissed arena - which had a few Saltires fluttering in the breeze - as Murray marched in like a gladiator ready for battle.

And it didn't take him long to taste blood as he broke his German opponent in the third game of the first set.

That gave Murray the impetus to take a grip of the set - and it was a hold he never relinquished all the way through to the moment he clinched it 6-4 with a terrific forehand.

That settled Murray's nerves and he put the squeeze on Haas with blistering ground strokes that had the 30-year-old chasing shadows round the court.

And the pressure told in the second set's third game when the Scot broke Haas with a series of slick slices from the baseline.

Murray won his next two service games to love to consolidate his position but then suffered a glitch when he was serving at 4-3 up and let Haas in for an unexpected break.

That swung the set Haas's way and the German took the next game to leave Murray asking questions of himself. And the Scot couldn't come up with the answers as his serve deserted him in the tie break.

Haas used all his experience to keep Murray on the back foot.

Murray threw in a double fault and he eventually yielded 7-4 to the constant pressure and coughed up his first set of this Wimbledon as Haas levelled the match.

Murray needed to dig deep - and he did. In spades.

He took the game to Haas and, in a mirror image of the first set, bossed the net with a potent blend of power and panache.

In the third set he dug in when his serve was under threat and saved two break points in a game that went to five deuces.

It gave him the chance to serve for the set. There was no mistake this time as Murray's serve returned with a vengeance and he blew Haas away to take the set 6-3.

The fourth set was nip and tuck until the fifth game when Murray put Haas in trouble with some ripsnorting returns. Clearly frustrated, the German double-faulted to hand over the initiative.

He followed that with a solid service game and another break to lead 5-2. Murray even had the luxury of letting two match points slide before he rattled in a forehand that Haas could only return into the net. The Scot clenched his fists and let out a huge victory roar - and it's one we could hear again soon.

Earlier, eighth seed Gasquet swept past fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3.

But he showed a dip in concentration, dropping the third set on a tie break then struggling to kill off his opponent in the fourth.