WIMBLEDON — British hopeful Andy Murray won his quarterfinal Thursday at the Olympics, delighting a Wimbledon crowd that featured Prince William and wife Kate. Murray, seeded No. 3, became the first men's semifinalist by beating No. 11 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, 6-4, 6-1. Murray hit 15 aces to one for Almagro and never faced a break point. He had 29 winners and just seven unforced errors. The Scotsman was runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon last month. His opponent Friday will be No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who beat No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-5. Serena Williams scored a 6-0, 6-3 win over former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. Williams will Friday face top-ranked Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, who advanced beating No. 7 Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 7-5. Roger Federer's final shot of the day clipped the let cord, dribbled over the net and settled softly in the grass, beyond even 6-foot-9 (2.06-meter) John Isner's reach. The crowd responded with a collective “aww,” Isner grimaced and Federer offered a sheepish wave of apology. But after all these years, he's probably overdue for a little luck in the Olympics. Federer advanced to the semifinals by beating Isner 6-4, 7-6 (5). With that tall hurdle cleared, the 17-time Grand Slam champion needs one more win to clinch the first Olympic singles medal of his career, which would plug the biggest hole in a remarkable resume. On Friday, Federer will face No. 8-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina. Del Potro advanced by beating No. 15 Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4, 7-6 (4). Maria Sharapova won a matchup of first-time Olympians and four-time Grand Slam champions. The Russian, seeded No. 3, beat Kim Clijsters of Belgium 6-2, 7-5 on Centre Court at Wimbledon to reach the Olympic semifinals. Sharapova's opponent Friday will be No. 14 Maria Kirilenko of Russia, who defeated No. 6 Petra Kvitova of Germany 7-6 (3), 6-3. Americans Bob and Mike Bryan advanced to doubles semifinals by edging Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram of Israel, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (10). Neither team managed a service break, and the Bryans sealed the victory on their fourth match point when Erlich double-faulted into the net. Indian duo Leander Paes and Vishnu Vardhan were also knocked out of the doubles after a 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 defeat against French second seeds Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra. Leander Paes and Sania Mirza made a winning start to their bid for a Olympic Games mixed doubles medal as the Indian duo defeated Serbia's Nenad Zimonjic and Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-4. Next up for Paes and Mirza is a quarterfinal clash against Belarusian top seeds Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi. — Agencies
