Andy Murray will ask how much more he can take after Wimbledon defeat

It was almost as if Andy Murray suddenly realised his time was up.

On the hallowed patch of London turf that has provided the stage for his greatest triumphs and more than a few of his most epic sporting tragedies, the realisation that the glory days may be over for good came mid-way through the fourth set of his latest epic late-night match at Wimbledon.

After finding a way back into a contest that was slipping away from him as he dropped the first two sets against old foe John Isner, Murray’s hopes of another five-set epic triumph were dashed in the game that gave his towering American opponent the door he needed to step through to seal victory.

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Murray appeared to have the momentum in the match until he was broken mid-way through the fourth set and the reaction he served up as his forehand drooped into the net for the fateful break of serve said it all.

Pulling his cap down over his face, Murray’s slow and agonised walk back to this chair was that of a sportsman who wondered how it had come to this.

Murray has always respected veteran American Isner and on a grass court, the threat he offers with his power-packed serve has never been underestimated, yet the Scot will also know that he would never have lost this match in his prime.

And that’s why this defeat may be more significant than any other in his long and agonising attempt to revive his former glories.

After starting his grass court campaign early at the LTA’s