Andy Murray's bid to defend his Wimbledon title has been ended at the quarter-final stage this afternoon courtesy of a 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 defeat at the hands of Grigor Dimitrov.
Murray held his opening service game on Centre Court, but Dimitrov's power and movement was superior from very early on.
It meant that it came as little surprise when the Bulgarian broke for a 3-1 lead, before going on to win the next three games in a row to take the first set in just 26 minutes.
There was more fight from Murray during the second set, but he was often on the back foot. Breaks were exchanged midway through the set, which eventually entered into a tie-break. Once again Dimitrov, seeded 11th, dominated and made it count with a 7-4 triumph.
The trend continued in the third set, with Murray handing Dimitrov his first break thanks to a double fault. A second break followed at 5-2 to Dimitrov, who secured his route into the semi-finals in the process.
He will now take on either Novak Djokovic or Marin Cilic for a place in the final. As for Murray, he will not play in the last four at SW19 for the first time since 2008.
Liam Apicella
