Great fall: UK’s Murray out of Wimbledon
3 July 2014 5:37 AM IST
Andy Murray’s reign as Wimbledon champion came to a stunning end as Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov clinched a sensational 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. Murray had hoped to become the first British man to successfully defend the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936, but the Scot was completely out-classed in a two-hour masterclass from 11th seed Dimitrov on Centre Court.
The 27-year-old’s unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semifinal at the grasscourt Grand Slam.
Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final. ‘I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It’s never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate. I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis. The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control,’ 11th-seeded Dimitrov said.
The 27-year-old’s unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semifinal at the grasscourt Grand Slam.
Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final. ‘I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It’s never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate. I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis. The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control,’ 11th-seeded Dimitrov said.
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