Gutted Andy Murray looks heartbroken as he’s told his shot at a crucial stage of the fourth set of his Wimbledon defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas was IN after it was called out by the line judges on centre court
Andy Murray cut an agonised figure on Friday in his post-match press conference after his second-round defeat to number five seed Stefanos Tsitsipas which snuffed out his hopes of a deep run at Wimbledon.
The two-time Wimbledon champion came into the tournament on a run of fine grass court form after wins at Surbiton and Nottingham, and crucially, fit and firing.
But an early encounter with one of the competition’s big beasts stymied his progress, with Murray losing the epic, two-day clash.
Momentum had been firmly on the side of the Briton, who was leading two sets to one before the 11pm curfew on Thursday evening, but the day’s break gave Tsitsipas a fresh run at the 36-year-old.
Murray was also the victim of an incorrect call at a crucial moment in the fourth set, which he opted not to challenge.
Andy Murray cut an agonised figure during his presser after losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas
The two-time champion was unable to progress to the second round on the ten-year anniversary of his historic Wimbledon win
When told after the defeat by a reporter that he had in fact, won the point at 15-30 and four-all in the fourth, Murray looked heartbroken at the missed chance.
At first almost shellshocked by the reporter’s revelation, Murray said slowly: ‘The 15-30 point, my return was in?
‘Ummm. Yeah. Well – yeah.
‘That’s obviously frustrating, because I remember it. It was a backhand cross-court, very short, and I probably would have won the point, so… yep.’
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Instead, Tsitsipas held his serve, and was able to push the Brit to a tiebreaker, which the Greek won 7-3.
Murray’s defeat on Centre Court was one of a spate of British losses that saw all three men’s singles contenders knocked out of the competition in just over half an hour.
Cameron Norrie was outclassed by American prospect Christopher Eubanks, fresh off the back of his first-ever grass court tournament win in Mallorca, and Liam Broady was felled in four sets by number 26 seed Denis Shapovalov.
That moment from press conference when they told him about that point at 15-30 that was actually in. Heartbreaking to see Andy like this pic.twitter.com/rzUSKqq6mo
— Andy Murray Fan Club (@MagicMurrayFans) July 7, 2023
The number five seed beamed after he recovered momentum to see off Murray’s challenge
Tsitsipas’ girlfriend Paula Badosa was in the crowd after she was forced to retire from her clash against Marta Kostyuk on Friday morning
Liam Broady was another British hopeful that fell to opposition on a difficult Friday afternoon
Broady had played a grueling five-set thriller against number four seed Casper Ruud the day before, but the wildcard was unable to extend his fairytale run in the face of a compelling challenge by the Canadian player.
British hopes will now focus solely on Katie Boulter in the singles’ contest.
The British number one will play defending champion Elena Rybakina on Centre Court in the last tie on Centre Court on Saturday afternoon.
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