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Murray wins through as Roddick exits Wimbledon

Fourth seed Andy Murray has the weight of Britain's tennis hopes on his shoulders at Wimbledon.
Fourth seed Andy Murray has the weight of Britain's tennis hopes on his shoulders at Wimbledon.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Fourth seed Andy Murray beats Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic in third round at Wimbledon
  • British player will next face French 15th seed Richard Gasquet in grand slam event
  • Three-time runner-up Andy Roddick beaten by Spain's Feliciano Lopez in straight sets
  • World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will resume his rain-delayed third-round match on Saturday

(CNN) -- World No. 4 Andy Murray battled into the last 16 at Wimbledon on Friday, but three-time runner-up Andy Roddick's hopes of a first title are over for another year.

Home hope Murray, still seeking his first grand slam title, survived a second-set blip to beat Ivan Ljubicic under a closed roof on Centre Court as rain curtailed the day's action in London.

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will resume his third-round match on Saturday, leading Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (8-6), while Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych led American Alex Bogomolov Jr. 6-2 6-4 4-3.

Murray, a semifinalist in 2009 and 2010, triumphed 6-4 4-6 1-6 7-6 (7-4) in just under three hours against Croatia's former world No. 3.

Why Murray's Wimbledon mission is doomed to failure

I played very good tennis from the back of the court, I just need to serve better. It's a step in the right direction
--Andy Murray
RELATED TOPICS
  • Wimbledon
  • Andy Murray
  • Andy Roddick
  • Rafael Nadal
  • Tennis

Ljubicic, now ranked 33rd, has never made it past the third round of the grass-court grand slam.

Scotland's Murray will next face French 15th seed Richard Gasquet, who had few problems in overcoming Italy's Simone Bolelli 6-3 6-2 6-4.

"It was a tough one. Both of us were struggling a bit behind our second serves. He made a couple of huge returns," the 24-year-old said.

"You have to come through really tough periods sometimes. It's very intense. I thought I played very good tennis from the back of the court, I just need to serve better. It's a step in the right direction."

Former No. 1 Roddick lost in an epic final against Roger Federer in 2009 then went out in the fourth round last year, and his diminishing returns continued with straight-sets defeat by Feliciano Lopez.

The Spanish left-hander, twice a quarterfinalist, won 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 to set up a clash with French ninth seed Gael Monfils or Poland's Lukasz Kubot.

It was his first win over Roddick in eight meetings, coming after he lost in three sets in a recent grass warm-up event in England.

"When you play Andy Roddick here, you never expect to win two straight tie-breaks against him. So I'm really happy with my performance," Lopez said.

In second-round action, seventh seed David Ferrer came from behind to beat American 19-year-old Ryan Harrison 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 4-6 6-3 6-2 and set up a clash with Slovakia's Karol Beck.

Austrian 11th seed Jurgen Melzer overcame Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-1) to earn a tie with Belgium's 2002 semifinalist Xavier Malisse, while 18-year-old Tomic beat Russia's Igor Andreev 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-1.

Former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro led French 15th seed Gilles Simon 7-6 (10-8) 2-4 when play was halted, with the Argentine seeking to earn a meeting with Nadal.

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