IT would be one player's dream - and it would be another's recurring nightmare.

Andy Murray seeks to banish the ghosts of Beijing when he plays Lu Yen-hsun today with a place in the third round of Wimbledon at stake. And a piece of Olympic history to be avenged.

Lu, the world No.75, defeated the Scot in the first round of the Olympics five years ago.

He admits he dreams of repeating this feat in SW19 tonight as tens of millions back home in China and Taiwan huddle around television sets into the wee small hours to watch a live feed of his bid for glory.

"Beating Murray? Of course it would be big news," said Lu.

"But it is too early to say that. I can dream it of course but I have to do it.

"I don't care if I am in the front pages or not. Always being in the front pages always has two sides – one is a good thing and one is a bad thing.

"I hope I can bring good things but this is a very tough match and I just need to focus."

Lu and Murray have met only once since then, a straight- forward 6-3, 6-2 victory for the Scot in Indian Wells in March this year.

But the memory of that encounter in Beijing lingers for both men.

Not least because it is still the only Olympic singles match the 26-year-old Scot has ever lost.

While Murray was already on the cusp of the world's top five players by then, and coming direct from a tournament win in Cincinnati, Lu was ranked around the 70 mark and his preparations involved travelling late from Los Angeles to China, minus his coach Dirk Hordorff, who was not allowed to travel after a lengthy row with the Chinese Taipei Olympic Association.

"Of course this victory maybe gives me a little bit of confidence, even if it was five years ago," said Lu.

"If you're asking me right now do I expect to beat him, I would say not. If I do my best, I can challenge him.

"But he is a great player, everyone knows he has improved so much in this one year, the Wimbledon final, the Olympics, the US Open, even Australia Open he played fantastic matches."

Murray is grimly determined to avenge the Olympic result, five years on.

He has an Olympic gold medal from London in his bag but still carries the lesson of that defeat in Beijing. He simply did not prepare properly.

Murray said: "I had just won Cincinnati and this is going to sound like an excuse but it is the reality.

"We arrived there late because of Cincinnati and it was tough conditions."

HE ADDED: "I was just so excited to be part of the Olympics that I literally went to the opening ceremony and I was sweating so much.

"I wanted to meet all of the other athletes and basically enjoy the whole experience and forgot a little bit that I was there to win tennis matches.

"That is why when the Olympics came around this time I was determined to put that to bed, that I had messed up a little bit."

Murray knows Asian tennis is on the up and said he believed the continent could provide a men's Grand Slam winner to follow in Li Na's footsteps, the Chinese woman who has won the French Open.

"It would be good for the sport when that happens," he said. He praised Kei Nishikori of Japan, saying: "He is close to the top 10 and he would be the first Asian man to do it.

"Li Na has done well and tennis has got much bigger in China due to her.

"The Japanese have had three or four guys in the top 100 at one time."

He added: "Yen-hsun has been about for some time but if you look at the Challenger results there are more guys and their level is rising.

"I am sure that in 10, 15 years this will grow more and more."

Murray, though, will be determined his opponent is cut down to size today.