British balloon bursts as valiant Murray fizzles on main stage

LONDON : For a post-lunchtime session the home fans rushed into Centre Court like rarely before, hurriedly sweeping scone crumbs from their shirt fronts, to settle down for what they hoped would be an epic British Wimbledon victory.

Andy Murray can pack a Wimbledon court like few others - any time of day or night - and when he strode onto that most hallowed patch of turf in tennis, two-sets-to-one up against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the stage was set.

Pairing a steel resolve with his fabled metal hip, the 36-year-old was allowing British tennis fans to dream.

Poised to roll back the clock and take fifth seed Tsitsipas's place in the third round, Murray had a keyed up crowd ready to lift him to victory.

Middle-aged men in well-tailored suits jumped to their feet, revealing flamboyant cufflinks as they pumped their fists to celebrate winning shots.

Women clapped hands above their heads, beseeching Murray - the man who, a decade ago, had ended the 77-year wait for a British Wimbledon champion - to finish off his youthful rival and write another chapter.

But instead of a famous fairytale victory, Wimbledon's first Friday ended in Greek tragedy for the 36-year-old and his legion of patriotic fans as Murray succumbed in five sets to a physically stronger opponent who looked like he could have maintained the intensity for hour after hour.

Disappointment drenched the arena, tempered with admiration for the Scottish warrior who has done so much for British tennis. It will take some time for him to extract any solace, though from a 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 defeat.

"I'm obviously very disappointed just now," he told reporters as he processed the loss.

"Yeah, obviously you never know how many opportunities you're going to get to