In a surprisingly flat performance, defending champ Andy Murray folded in straight sets against the Bulgarian, losing 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 on Centre Court in the quarter-finals
London: Andy Murray crashed out of Wimbledon as his title defence was halted by Grigor Dimitrov and admitted: “It wasn’t a great day.”
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In a surprisingly flat performance, Murray folded in straight sets against the Bulgarian, losing 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 on Centre Court in the quarter-finals.
A frustrated Andy Murray throws his racquet in the air during his quarter-final tie against Grigor Dimitrov. Pic/getty images
Murray said on BBC One: “I’m disappointed, especially disappointed with the way I started the match.
“I played a poor first set and that gave him confidence at the beginning.
“In the second set he got tight at the end and it could have gone either way. When he got that set it’s a lot easier to settle down when you’re two sets to love up.
“If I had managed to come back with him having been a break up in that set and got it, maybe I would have been able to find a way back, but it wasn’t a great day.”
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic reached his 23rd Grand Slam semi-final and fifth in a row at Wimbledon as the 2011 champion defeated Croatia’s Marin Cilic for the 10th time in 10 meetings.
Top seed Djokovic won 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-2 and will face Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who knocked out Murray, for a place in Sunday’s final.
Federer into last four
Roger Federer avoided joining Wimbledon’s growing list of Centre Court casualties as the Swiss star hit back to reach the semi-finals with a 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-4 victory over compatriot Stan Wawrinka. Federer dropped a set for the first time in this year’s tournament, but eventually emerged unscathed on Wimbledon’s showpiece arena just hours after Murray had walked off stunned by his quarter-final defeat.