MX23RW : Friday, April 26 22:59:57| >> :600:278419171:278419171:

On this day: Rafael Nadal ends Andy Murray's Wimbledon dream again

Four years ago today, Rafael Nadal recovered from a set down to beat Andy Murray in the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

During his 2010 Wimbledon semi-final clash with Rafael Nadal, a 23-year-old Andy Murray suffered a routine defeat in straight sets.

With that in mind, it would have been fair to assume that the last player the Scot wanted to face at the same stage of the competition 12 months later was the Spaniard, but the draw had other ideas.

It was four years ago today that the players headed out in front of a packed and expectant Centre Court crowd, many of whom were eager for Murray to end Britain's wait for home representation in the final of the men's game.

After all, not since Bunny Austin in 1938 had a Brit advanced as far as the showpiece match, with Fred Perry the last to win it two years earlier than that.

The omens were certainly not good, though, because Murray had won just four of his 15 previous meetings with Nadal, who was bidding for a third Wimbledon title.

However, when the left-hander sent the ball crashing into the net to hand Murray the first set, it seemed that there was only going to be one winner.

The momentum was well and truly with Murray, but that all changed when he was leading 2-1, 15-30 on the Nadal serve in the second set. The home favourite had the most simple of forehands to bring up two break points, but his shot from the middle of the court was long. Nadal went on to hold that game, while a downbeat Murray folded.

A double fault from Murray handed Nadal a break in the next game and from that moment onwards the world number one coasted to victory, eventually winning through 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4.

Speaking after the match, Nadal told BBC Sport: "He played fantastic at the beginning but he had an important mistake at the beginning of the second set, at 15-30 an easy forehand he played long, and probably that was one of the turning points of the match.

"For me it is really a dream to be back in the final for another time. I'm very happy for everything but seriously, I feel sad for Andy, he deserves to be in this final."

Meanwhile, Murray, who had lost his third Wimbledon semi-final in a row, added: "Sometimes, I've come off the court and thought maybe I should have taken a few more chances but this time it was the other way. I went for it and started making mistakes. It was good for a set and a little bit, then went the other way."

In the final, Nadal was stunned by Novak Djokovic as the Serb secured his first title at SW19 courtesy of a 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 triumph.

ID:229993: cacheID:229993:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3636:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates during his Gentlemen's Singles second round match against Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon on Jun
Read Next:
Wawrinka not concerned by 'big four'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1pm
Bublik
Carballes Baena
Result
Marozsan
Cerundolo
2 65
6 77
Result
Musetti
Seyboth Wild
4 4
6 6
Result
Paul
Klein
65 6 6
77 1 4
Result
Rublev
Bagnis
6 6
1 4
Result
Andreeva
Noskova
4 6 6
6 3 3
Result
Bronzetti
Rybakina
4 3
6 6
Result
Garcia
Wang
6 6
1 4
Result
Pavlyuchenkova
Saville
6 6
1 4
Result
Altmaier
Fils
6 6
2 3
Result
Martin Etcheverry
Shapovalov
63 3
77 6
Result
Alexandrova
Krueger
3 3
6 6
Result
Bucsa
Kasatkina
7 65 3
5 77 6
Result
Dolehide
Kalinina
66 6 6
78 2 3
Result
Jimenez Kasintseva
Paolini
0 1
6 6
Result
Linette
Sabalenka
4 6 3
6 3 6
Result
Baez
Van Assche
6 62 6
4 77 3
Result
Hurkacz
Draper
6 7
1 5
Result
Bejlek
Kalinskaya
6 6
1 4
Result
Cristian
Krejcikova
2 6 6
6 0 2
Result
Kostyuk
Sherif
2 5
6 7
Result
Zheng
Putintseva
5 0
7 2
(ret.)
Result
Humbert
Van De Zandschulp
6 6
3 3
Result
Darderi
Fritz
61 4
77 6
Result
Boulter
Montgomery
6 3 4
1 6 6
Result
Shevchenko
Alcaraz
2 1
6 6
Result
Vondrousova
Rogers
6 6
1 3
Result
Griekspoor
Daniel
4 6 6
6 3 4
Result
Munar
Struff
1 5
6 7
Result
Navone
Rune
7 62 4
5 77 6
Result
Coric
Zverev
3 2
6 6
8.30pm
Collins
Danilovic
Result
Shang
Davidovich Fokina
5 3
7 6


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!