The world number 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, visibly hampered by hip pain, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by American Sam Querrey (28th), who won 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-1, this Wednesday.
With great difficulty in moving since the third set, the Brit couldn't react against Querrey's powerful shots, becoming the first American to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick reached the final in London in 2009.
Murray thus fell just short of his 22nd Grand Slam semi-final, the eighth at the London tournament, which he won last year for the second time.
Having been defeated only once by his opponent in their last eight encounters, the 30-year-old Scotsman found himself leading two sets to one at the end of the third set.
But his physical problems weighed him down in the last two sets in front of the nearly 15,000 spectators who watched the match on the center court.
Murray's hip problems had disrupted his grass season preparation.
After this defeat, he could potentially lose his number 1 ATP ranking if Serbian Novak Djokovic wins the tournament. Djokovic is facing Czech Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals.
Californian Querrey concluded the match with 27 aces.
"It's wonderful. It's a dream come true at Wimbledon, a really special tournament for me," reacted the American, who was eliminated in the quarter-finals last year.
He will now seek a spot in the final against the winner of the match between Croatian Marin Cilic (6th) or Luxembourgian Gilles Muller (26th), who knocked out Rafael Nadal.
AFP