Defending Olympic champion Andy Murray conceded that conditions were tough as he secured a hard-fought victory over Fabio Fognini to reach the quarter-finals of the men’s tennis singles.

The Brit needed two hours and 10 minutes to see off his Italian opponent 6-1 2-6 6-3 but at one stage he looked like he was on the verge of defeat, as he lost eight successive games and fell 3-0 behind during the decisive set.

The reigning Wimbledon champion rallied, winning six straight games to secure victory and book his place in the last eight, where he will now face America’s Steve Johnson.

The world number two admitted after the match that he was relieved to still be in the competition as conditions at the Olympic Tennis Center were extremely testing.

“It was really, really hard out there and difficult to appreciate unless you were actually out there playing,” Murray said.

“Sometimes the conditions don’t allow for you to play really well and the conditions didn’t allow that today.”

The 29-year-old capped a good day in Rio as, following his singles success, he went on to secure a victory in the mixed doubles alongside Heather Watson, as the duo defeated Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro and David Ferrer 6-3 6-3 in their first-round match.

Murray will be looking to win gold in both events at the Games and he is available at 1.70 to successfully defend his men’s singles title.