Dimitrov ends Murray’s reign
Bulgarian makes short work of crowd favourite en route to semis to be joined by Djokovic and Federer
LONDON: The mayhem created by an Australian firecracker the previous evening was continued in brutal fashion by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Wednesday as he annihilated defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. With the dust still settling on 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios’s third-round demolition of world No.1 Rafael Nadal, Dimitrov caused the second seismic shock on Centre Court in the space of 24 hours by outclassing Murray 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2.
The Briton’s shattering defeat means that two of the so-called Big Four in men’s tennis have departed in quick succession from the grasscourt grand slam, both walloped by members of a brash new generation of big hitters with no fear and scant regard for reputations.
“Everyone’s starting to get better,” a downbeat Murray said. “The younger guys are now obviously becoming more mature and improving all the time.”
It’s one thing surrendering your crown, but to suffer such a remorseless beating on your own turf in front of Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, was especially galling.
Yet Murray said: “It’s not the toughest loss of my career; that was losing in the final here in 2012 (against Roger Federer).
“I’ve had a good run here at Wimbledon over the past few years. Obviously it’s disappointing for it to end like that.” ORDER RESTORED Top seed Novak Djokovic, the man Murray beat a year ago to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s Wimbledon champion, nearly went the same way before restoring order by digging himself out of a hole to beat dangerous Croatian Marin Cilic 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2 and set up a clash with Dimitrov.
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.
Such was the quality of the 11th seed’s tennis that Murray could have been excused for thinking it was Federer in his prime on the other side of the net. Since winning the junior title at Wimbledon, Dimitrov has been saddled with comparisons to the Swiss maestro, given his smooth movement and elegant strokes, but until last year his real talent had not burst through.
With coach Roger Rasheed and girlfriend Maria Sharapova now in his corner, however, Dimitrov now looks ready to jump the queue of those waiting to get their hands on some major silverware - and few would bet against it happening here.
“Dimitrov is in a semi-final and he will say, why can’t I beat Federer or Djokovic and win t he title?” former champion Jimmy Connors, who was commentating for the BBC, said of the player who won the Queen’s Club grasscourt title last month. BREEZE FOR BOUCHARD With cracks beginning to show in the top echelons of the men’s game, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and Romania’s Simona Halep heightened the sense of a changing of the guard in women’s tennis as both reached the semifinals.
Bouchard, 20, beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 while Romanian third seed Halep, 22, continued her fantastic year to overcome last year’s runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-0.
They will face-off on Thursday, when both will become the first women from their respective countries to play in a Wimbledon semi-final.
Of the last four standing in the women’s draw, only 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has t asted g rand slam glory.