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Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov outplayed Andy Murray on Centre Court to end the Briton’s Wimbledon title defence in the quarter-finals.
Dimitrov, 23, played superbly to win 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in two hours and one minute and reach his first Grand Slam semi-final. Murray had been on a 17-match winning streak at Wimbledon and was looking to reach his sixth consecutive semi-final.

It is the first time since 2008 that he has failed to make the last four.

Dimitrov, seeded 11th, had too much with his big serve, variety of shots and athletic defence for an off-key Murray, who looked underpowered on serve and made a host of unforced errors.

The 27-year-old Scot, whose run at SW19 included his 2012 Olympic gold and last year’s Wimbledon triumph over Novak Djokovic, made a strong start but could not convert a break point in a tight opening game, and Dimitrov grew in confidence from the opening four-minute test.

He had little trouble returning the Murray serve and, unlike the Briton’s previous opponents, was able to dictate in the longer exchanges.

Pinned way behind the baseline, Murray began to make errors, and it was an ambitious backhand when forced out wide that saw the Scot drop serve in game four.

If that drew a murmur from the afternoon crowd on Centre Court, there were a few gasps when Dimitrov broke to love for a 5-1 lead and served out the set confidently after just 25 minutes.

With his mix of pace and spin, the backhand slice proving especially effective, Dimitrov was moving his man all over the court and pushing hard for the crucial second break.

Murray looked to his box in disbelief after a poor smash into the net at 3-3 made it 18 errors to just five from Dimitrov, and the pressure told when he sliced a backhand wide to fall behind again.

The match was now slipping away from the champion and he finally reacted, taking advantage of the first signs of edginess from his opponent to convert from 0-30 and get back on level terms.

Murray was still on the back foot, however, gasping for breath and urging the crowd to get behind him after winning a pulsating 31-stroke rally at 4-4, 30-30, and then fending off two break points at 5-5.

Reaching the tie-break might have felt like a minor victory for Murray, but Dimitrov was undeterred and again dominated the key moments, coming up with a backhand pass, a drop volley, and a terrific lunging backhand volley from 4-4.

Murray had recovered from two sets down at the same stage last year, but Dimitrov was a tougher proposition than Fernando Verdasco.

There was a sense of inevitability when the Briton double-faulted to drop serve in game six of the third set, and another double fault brought up two match points for the Bulgarian two games later.

Murray saw off the first with the kind of forehand winner he had been searching for all afternoon, but he could only find the net moments later and his reign as champion was over. — BBC Sport