The great unwanted Wimbledon tradition continues. Andy Murray’s desire — and the nation’s yearning — to see a British man reach a final here was denied yet again with Rafael Nadal winning 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 in 2hr 47min.
Murray’s tactic was to be aggressive, but he could not sustain his accuracy. He accepted that he has been more successful against Nadal in the past by being more patient than he was yesterday and that “maybe I got the balance a little bit wrong”.
“I was playing very high-risk tennis for most of the match,” he said. “I went for it today, and I started to make a few mistakes.”
But Nadal remains one of his biggest fans and said Murray is the best player without a grand-slam title that he has seen. “He’s a much better player than some players who have won grand-slams in the past,” he said.
“I’m giving it my best shot each time,” Murray said. “I’m trying my hardest.” The British No 1 said that he planned to work harder to put himself in a position to win that elusive grand- slam and vowed to “get stronger, be more professional”.
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Muzza Mania evaporated quickly on Centre Court as Nadal gave the crowd a masterclass in power, composure and agility. Even when Nadal slipped over and lost control of his racket the Spaniard was able, like a street juggler, to catch it. He would probably have won if asked to play barefoot.
“I’m not a robot,” Nadal said. “I feel sad for Andy. It’s tough for him.” Murray had become the first British man to reach three consecutive Wimbledon semi-finals since Fred Perry, but his fans would have been content just to draw comparisons to Bunny Austin, who, in 1938, was the most recent man from these isles to have reached the final.
The outcome was not unexpected. Nadal had won their past three encounters and is now on a 20-match winning streak at SW19, having not lost at Wimbledon since the 2007 final against Roger Federer. Tomorrow, against Novak Djokovic, he will be seeking his third title in four years.
Nadal could have been excused feeling mixed emotions after reaching his fifth Wimbledon final, but losing his world No 1 ranking to his next opponent. However, the Spaniard said: “Last year when I was No 3 or No 4, I said the No 1 is not a big goal for me. Today I lost the No 1. One guy played unbelievable the first half of the year, so he’s the new No 1. We just can congratulate him because what he did is really impressive, really fantastic.”
Murray took the first set 7-5 with the Scot having, at 5-5, produced his fastest serve of the championships when under pressure to hold. It was the first time he had won the first set of a semi-final at Wimbledon and he had survived an early scare, having called for the trainer after the third game of the tie to discuss the hip problem that had flared in the previous round.
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Murray had been peeved by a suggestion that he is a hypochondriac and was unabashed by the need for a medical chat so early in the contest.
He missed a simple forehand early in the second set that could have placed pressure on the Spaniard’s service game. It was, Nadal said, the turning point. It gave him new impetus and introduced an element of uncertainty into Murray’s psyche, which was all too evident when he failed to execute an overhead shot to prevent Nadal breaking for a 3-2 lead. Nadal proceeded to take the second set 6-2. He went on to wrest complete control of the match by taking the third, too.
It was a familiar story, with Murray’s serve becoming increasingly unreliable. But Nadal also produced an array of stunning winners to break at the start of the fourth. There were grimaces aplenty. At least Murray clung on to make Nadal serve out the match.
In a list of Brit-related tennis trivia, the fact that stands out, glaringly, is that we are all too adept, in spurts, at reaching Wimbledon semi-finals but advancing no farther. Roger Taylor made it to three, Tim Henman made four and now Murray has bowed out for the third year in succession.
Rafael Nadal v Novak Djokovic
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Centre Court, 2pm tomorrow
Live on BBC One from 1pm
•Nadal leads Djokovic 16-11 in their encounters, but Djokovic has won the past four. Nadal has won both their previous meetings on grass, in the 2007 Wimbledon semi-finals, when Djokovic retired injured, and in the final at Queen’s a year later.
•Djokovic has lost only one match this year, to Roger Federer in the French Open, and he has won seven titles. Nadal has won three titles this year. Regardless of the result, Djokovic will replace Nadal as the world No 1.
•Nadal has won ten grand-slam titles, Djokovic two.