Andy Murray rode a wave of British fervour to knock out twice runner-up Andy Roddick 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round at Wimbledon on Saturday.

Murray had won the pair's only previous meeting and once again proved that he was capable of taming Roddick's thunderbolt serve to the delight of a hollering Centre Court crowd.

While the result kept alive Murray's dreams of becoming the first Briton in 70 years to win the Wimbledon men's crown, third seed Roddick's exit ended the American challenge in the men's draw.

Murray reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time when Roddick slapped a forehand long on the Scot's second match point.

The world number 44 will next face either 15th seed Sebastien Grosjean or Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis.