Andy Murray joins Johanna Konta and Heather Watson in Wimbledon third round

Andy Murray, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson all booked their places in the third round of Wimbledon after a wonderful day of competition at SW19 for British tennis.

Showing no signs of the hip injury that plagued his preparations for the championship last week, Murray safely navigated his way past the tricky Dustin Brown, sealing a straight sets victory over the man who famously eliminated Rafael Nadal at the same stage two years ago.

Watson, meanwhile, matched her best run in the competition with a hugely impressive straight sets win over 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova.

Konta, who began the competition with injury concerns of her own, shared a gruelling duel with Donna Vekic of Croatia before clinching a tense tie break to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the first time in her career.

Aljaz Bedene is the fourth Briton to make it this far, following his impressive win over Ivo Karlovic on Tuesday (4 July).

Having extended his own record of always reaching the third round at Wimbledon, Murray's next challenge will be Italy's Fabio Fognini. Konta will meet 101th ranked Maria Sakkari in the third round while Watson faces the daunting prospect of trying to eliminate former world number one Victoria Azarenka.

Brown, an effortless crowd favourite at SW19, looked a dangerous proposition on paper for Murray, but the Scot produced perhaps his best tennis of 2017 to ease into the next round and perhaps end any lingering doubts over his fitness.

Brown, 32, asked questions over Murray's mobility with a flashy array of drop shots and volleys but the reigning champion comfortably answered most of them. A double fault from the Jamaican-German allowed Murray to break in the eighth game as he quickly took control.

Watson, fighting to claw her way back into the top 100, blitzed Sevastova in the opening set, not making a single unforced error as she sealed in just 19 minutes.

The 25-year-old looked to have handed her opponent a route back into the contest in the second when she surrendered her serve after a double fault in the third game. While a wobble like that may have seen her lose her nerve in the past, Watson recovered impressively to win five of the next six games to seal victory.

Konta's gripping battle with 21-year-old Vekic went to a tie break in the opening set, with the Briton recovering two set points before drawing first blood. The Croatian fought back in the second to force a decider, but it was Konta who took the win in a contest that ran over the three-hour mark, holding off a break point in the 17<sup>th game before slamming home match point.