ANDY MURRAY has crashed out of Wimbledon, leaving British hopes resting on Johanna Konta.
The defending champion lost 6-3 4-6 7-6 1-6 1-6 to American Sam Querrey on Centre Court in his tenth quarter-final at the tournament.
The loss comes one day after Konta became the first British woman to make it to the semi-finals of Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1978.
Murray must now hope Novak Djokovic does not win the title or he will lose his world number one ranking as well.
The defeat is Murray’s worst ever at Wimbledon in terms of his opponent’s ranking, having previously never lost to a player ranked lower than world number 19 David Nalbandian, on his debut in 2005.
Querrey, ranked 28th, becomes the first American man to reach the semi-finals at a grand slam in singles since Andy Roddick here in 2009.
He has now accounted for the defending champion in each of the last two years at Wimbledon, after beating Djokovic in the third round last year.
Murray has downplayed the difficulties caused by his right hip, which threatened his participation in the tournament, since declaring himself fit for his title defence.
But after limping his way through four rounds he was found physically wanting and lost 12 of the last 13 games.
It was clear that, even had it made it through this one, Murray in this condition would not have been able to challenge for a third title.
The Scot must now work on getting himself fully fit in time for the US Open in six weeks’ time after a season dogged by injury and illness.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe