Great Britain's Andy Murray has described the playing conditions in Rio de Janeiro as "very, very hard" after he needed three sets to beat Fabio Fognini.

Murray lost eight games in a row to move to the brink of defeat against the Italian before rallying in the third set, but the three-time Major winner has put his inconsistent performance down to the wind on the main show court in Brazil.

The 29-year-old told reporters: "The conditions were making it very, very hard but once I got the momentum I went with it and that was it. Sometimes the conditions don't allow for you to play really well and the conditions didn't allow that today.

"It was really, really hard out there and difficult to appreciate unless you were actually out there playing. I just tried to keep fighting and he managed to make a few mistakes.

"It was a good atmosphere for sure, normally when the crowd gets into the match the tennis gets good but that wasn't the case because you can't play well in those conditions. You just have to accept that and try and fight and that is what I did."

Murray will play USA's Steve Johnson for a place in the semi-finals.