Defending champion, Andy Murray, crashed out of the Wimbledon Open after a shock defeat to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.
Dimitrov came of age as he dismantled Murray 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 in just a minute over two hours, handing him his first straight-sets defeat at Wimbledon since 2010’s loss to Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.
The defeat ended Murray’s 17-match winning streak at the All England Club and was his first slam loss to a player ranked outside the top 10 in four years.
Murray lost his first set of the tournament as Dimitrov stormed into an early lead in their Wimbledon quarter-final clash.
The Scot, whose run at the All England Club 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.
Dimitrov, who is 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 Bulgarian, who is unbeaten in 10 matches on grass, has reached his first ever grand slam semi-final, doing so with a destructive display that Murray simply had no answer to throughout.
