Murray came through 6-3 6-3 7-5 in less than two hours on Court One after a rain delay and immediately said his game needed further work.

"I served well. The rest of it is going to need some work. It was quite tricky with the wind and he was hitting the ball really hard and flat, which made it difficult to get into a rhythm," said the British number one.

"I felt like I was a little upright on the court, I didn't move that well. It was a good workout for me and I'm glad to get through in straight sets."

Murray will next take on Croatian Ivan Ljubicic on Friday after the 32-year-old beat Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4 6-4 6-2, and he is wary of the veteran's challenge.

He said: "I've lost to Ljubicic a few times and I expect that to be a difficult match.

"He serves well and that always makes it difficult. I need to make sure I can return well, which I did very well at Queen's, and I need to do the same again on Friday."

Murray remains on course to meet Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals after the Spaniard came through easily against world number 69 Ryan Sweeting, 6-3 6-2 6-4. The number one seed was pleased to win in straight sets under the Centre Court roof after allowing his opponent a glimmer of hope in the third set before refocusing.

He said: "I played well. I had the match under control at 2-1, 40-0 in the third set but then made a few mistakes.

"This is the best court in the world. It's a pleasure always to play here.

"It was a new experience under the roof but I prefer to play with no roof, that's for sure."

Murray can be backed at3.00to reach the final, while Nadal is at1.72. Six-time champion Roger Federer is at1.66in the same market.