Ferrer and Muguruza knocked out
Venus to play mixed doubles
RIO DE JANEIRO — Britain's Andy Murray enjoyed a routine win over Argentina's Juan Monaco to ease into the third round of the tennis tournament at the Rio Games Tuesday, while Spain's world No. 12 David Ferrer was knocked out.
Murray, who won singles gold at the London Games, outclassed Monaco 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour and will next face either France's Benoit Paire or Italy's Fabio Fognini.
"I played pretty well, hit the ball good from the back of the court, not many unforced errors. It was a good match," said Murray, who is favorite to take gold after Serbia's world No. 1 Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the first round.
Earlier, Russia's Evgeny Donskoy edged 34-year-old Ferrer in three tense sets. Donskoy, ranked 84 in the world, upset former French Open finalist Ferrer 3-6, 7-6(1), 7-5.
"In important moments he played more aggressively than me," said Ferrer, who conceded this may be his last Olympics.
In the women's tournament, American world No. 9 Madison Keys reached the quarterfinals after outlasting Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Keys struggled to find her rhythm but in the end her powerful strokes proved too much for the 5 foot 4" Navarro, who has one of the best one-handed backhands in women's tennis.
French Open champion and women’s third seed Garbine Muguruza was knocked out of the Olympics tennis tournament, losing 6-1, 6-1 to Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.
Puig, the world No. 34, goes on to face Germany's Laura Siegemund for a place in the semifinals.
On Monday, US tennis powerhouse Serena Williams dispatched France’s Alize Cornet in two sets, ending a streak of weak family performances that saw older sister Venus eliminated from singles Saturday and the pair knocked out in doubles Sunday.
The younger Williams, a 34-year-old four-time Olympic gold medalist, had a slow and frustrating start against Cornet before turning the momentum to win 7-6 (5), 6-2, picking up the pace in the second set after the first ran over an hour long.
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza topped Japan’s Nao Hibino 6-1, 6-1.
On the men’s side, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro, got to the third round but lost to Spain’s Rafael Nadal in doubles.
Del Potro produced a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Portugal’s Joao Sousa, before heading back out on court with partner Maximo Gonzalez and getting beaten by Marc Lopez and Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.
Gilles Muller of Luxembourg beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-4, 6-3.
Venus Williams' Olympics, meanwhile, isn't over yet. The four-time gold medalist will play mixed doubles with American teammate Rajeev Ram.
Venus was not originally expected to enter the event but lost in the first round in both singles and doubles, teaming with sister Serena.
As expected, the biggest-name team announced Tuesday was 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal paired with French Open winner Garbine Muguruza. The Spaniards are seeded third.
The most anticipated team before the Olympics — Switzerland's Martina Hingis and Roger Federer — didn't happen when Federer withdrew because of a knee injury.
Another top women's player who lost in the first round, Agnieszka Radwanska, will also get an additional shot at an Olympic run. She'll play with Lukasz Kubot for Poland.
The top two seeded teams are from France: Caroline Garcia-Nicolas Mahut and Kristina Mladenovic-Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Mahut and Herbert were seeded No. 1 in men's doubles but lost in the first round.
Mladenovic and Herbert face Italy's Roberta Vinci and Fabio Fognini in the opening round. Fourth-seeded Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna of India meet Australia's Sam Stosur and John Peers.
Other notable pairings in the 16-team field are Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro and David Ferrer, Britain's Johanna Konta and Jamie Murray, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock of the United States.
The 32-year-old Ram is coming off a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon in men's doubles.
Mixed doubles play begins Wednesday.
