Murray’s Wimbledon reign ended by Dimitrov

Thursday, 3 July 2014 02:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria reacts after defeating Andy Murray of Britain in their men’s singles quarter-final tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London 2 July – Reuters

Andy Murray of Britain sits after being defeated by Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in their men’s singles quarter-final tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London 2 July – Reuters

LONDON (Reuters): Grigor Dimitrov broke British hearts by ending Andy Murray’s reign as Wimbledon champion with a sublime and serene 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 victory in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The third seed had confidently marched into the last eight without dropping a set, but his meek abdication on Wednesday left the Centre Court crowd, which included Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, stunned into silence. The man who had sparked wild celebrations around the country a year ago when he became the first home-grown men’s champion in 77 years, appeared to sleepwalk through a one-sided first set, threatened to fightback in the second and was simply outclassed in the third. A forehand into the net handed Dimitrov the biggest win of his career and he became the first Bulgarian man to reach the semi-finals of a grand slam tournament. The result ended Murray’s remarkable run of winning 17 successive matches at the All England Club, dating back to the 2012 London Olympics, as he bowed out in two hours and one minute. “I am excited and just happy I got through that match in straight sets. It’s never easy coming to play Andy in front of a home crowd and I am just fortunate and happy,” Dimitrov said after preventing the British hero from reaching his sixth successive Wimbledon semi-final. “As soon as we started warming up I sensed his game was not at the highest level and I was feeling good. I held my ground ... the tiebreak was crucial. I went into the third set very positive. “It’s tough when you know the person well outside the court and you have to face them. I have hopefully two more matches left and I am just focusing on that and trying not to get carried away.” The 11th seed will next play either Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatian 26th seed Marin Cilic for a place in the final.

Djokovic stumbles on his way to Wimbledon semi-finals

LONDON (Reuters): Top seed Novak Djokovic suffered some jittery moments under the big-serving onslaught of Marin Cilic on Wednesday before pulling his game together to win 6-1 3-6 6-7(4) 6-2 6-2 and take his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals. The Serbian former champion began efficiently, rattling through the first set in 27 minutes on a sunny but subdued Court One. Djokovic’s intensity dropped in the second set. He slipped and slid in the baseline dust and his towering Croatian opponent grabbed a break of serve using his big forehand to pummel the six-times grand slam champion. The pair fought a tight third set, watched by their celebrity coaches Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic, before normal service was resumed. Djokovic changed his shoes, upped the pace and raced into his 23rd semi-final, where he will meet Andy Murray’s conqueror, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.