Andy Murray produces another gold medal performance

By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Murray treated an audience of British Olympic gold medallists to a sparkling display of tennis on Centre Court to reach the business end of Wimbledon for the second year running on Saturday.

The world number three, hoping to end Britain's seven decade wait for a men's singles champion here, trounced Serbian Victor Troicki 6-2 6-3 6-4, firing six aces in a row at one point during a display mixing controlled power with a silky touch.

Four times Olympic cycling champion Chris Hoy, rowing great Steve Redgrave and 800 and 1500 metres Athens champion Kelly Holmes were all in the Royal Box.

Martina Navratilova, winner of 20 Wimbledon titles, was also among the great and the good to watch Murray illustrate his title credentials with thunder rumbling overhead.

They would have been impressed by what they saw and Murray admitted he was slightly in awe of fellow Scot Hoy, who won three of his gold medals in Beijing last year and was knighted this year at Buckingham Palace.

"I didn't really know whether to call him Sir and stuff," the 22-year-old Murray told reporters. "I didn't speak to him for that long but he just congratulated me on the way I played and wished me luck for the rest of the tournament.

"There were a lot of great sportsmen and women watching today. To get the chance to play in front of them was nice."

Murray's performances over the last two years, which have propelled him into the world's top three, have made him a household name in Britain and expectation is building that he can become the nation's latest sporting hero.