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| Andy Murray sent crashing out of Wimbledon by Grigor Dimitrov | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Andy Murray’s defence of his Wimbledon crown ended on Wednesday after he was beaten in straight sets by Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court. | Andy Murray’s defence of his Wimbledon crown ended on Wednesday after he was beaten in straight sets by Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court. |
| Murray had dominated each of his opponents en route to the quarter-final but he was totally outplayed by the impressive Bulgarian and lost 6-1, 7-6, 6-2. After the high of last year, when he ended Fred Perry’s 77-year reign as the last British man to win the singles title, this was a sad way for the third seed to bow out. | |
| Murray never managed to find anything like his best form while Dimitrov, seeded 11, played an inspired match to reach his first grand slam semi-final. The defeat ended Murray’s 17-match winning streak at the All England Club and was his first grand slam defeat to a player ranked outside the top 10 in four years. | |
| This was the match-up that created excitement when the draw was made – defending champion against tennis’ pin-up boy. Touted as “Baby Federer” and one half of the sport’s glamour couple with Maria Sharapova, Dimitrov has been making headlines on the court over the past year. The tough Australian coach Roger Rasheed has helped the 23-year-old develop the physical side of his game to go with his exceptional racquet skills. | |
| He made a tentative start to his first Wimbledon quarter-final but Murray was unable to take advantage of a break point and he was made to pay in remarkable fashion. From 1-1, Dimitrov won the final five games of the set, barely missing a ball while a nervy Murray could not find the form that had carried him to the last eight for the loss of only 32 games. | He made a tentative start to his first Wimbledon quarter-final but Murray was unable to take advantage of a break point and he was made to pay in remarkable fashion. From 1-1, Dimitrov won the final five games of the set, barely missing a ball while a nervy Murray could not find the form that had carried him to the last eight for the loss of only 32 games. |
| Being behind at Wimbledon was not an unfamiliar position for Murray, who at the same stage last year trailed Fernando Verdasco by two sets before fighting back to win. Perhaps the scoreline was not too surprising given their respective seasons – Dimitrov having won three titles, including his triumph at Queen’s two weeks ago, while Murray has not made a final since having back surgery last September. He has also not beaten a top-10 player since last year’s Wimbledon final victory over Novak Djokovic. Dimitrov looked so much more confident and he broke for the first time in the second set for 4-3. | |
| Murray played his best point of the match to save one break point but on the second he served a 93mph first serve and then erred with a horrible backhand slice. He looked towards his support camp with arms held wide as if looking for answers, and he found them in the next game, with some help from his opponent. | Murray played his best point of the match to save one break point but on the second he served a 93mph first serve and then erred with a horrible backhand slice. He looked towards his support camp with arms held wide as if looking for answers, and he found them in the next game, with some help from his opponent. |
| Having been rock solid, Dimitrov’s backhand let him down, allowing Murray to level straight away at 4-4. Centre Court held its collective breath at 30-30 in the next game as the pair pulled each other all over the court in a 31-stroke rally. Murray won it, and then served an ace to hold, but the pressure was relentless and he needed two big serves to save break points at 5-5. A tie-break would settle it, and it was Dimitrov who made the first meaningful move with a backhand pass to lead 5-4. A delightful drop volley gave the Bulgarian two set points, and he took the first as a desperate attempt at a pass from Murray found the net. | |
| Murray has come back from two sets to love to win matches seven times but against a player playing at Dimitrov’s level, it was a seriously tall order to do it again.Dimitrov’s defence had been exceptional, more evidence of the improvements made under Rasheed, who Murray came close to hiring in 2011 before opting for Ivan Lendl. | |
| Things went from bad to worse for Murray when, from 40-15, he lost four points in a row to drop serve at 3-2 behind, ending on a double fault. He looked a beaten man, and another double fault gave Dimitrov a first match point after exactly two hours. Murray saved that with one of his best forehands of the match but then netted a forehand to hand Dimitrov an unexpected but thoroughly deserved victory. | Things went from bad to worse for Murray when, from 40-15, he lost four points in a row to drop serve at 3-2 behind, ending on a double fault. He looked a beaten man, and another double fault gave Dimitrov a first match point after exactly two hours. Murray saved that with one of his best forehands of the match but then netted a forehand to hand Dimitrov an unexpected but thoroughly deserved victory. |
| Murray sat disconsolately in his chair before trudging off alongside Dimitrov, pausing to bow to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the royal box and wave to the crowd, who cheered their fallen hero |