The mayhem created by an Australian firecracker the previous evening was continued in brutal fashion by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov yesterday as he annihilated defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
With the dust still settling on 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios’s third-round demolition of world no.1 Rafael Nadal, Dimitrov caused the second seismic shock on Centre Court in the space of 24 hours by outclassing Murray 6-1 7-6 6-2.
The Briton’s shattering defeat means that two of the so-called Big Four in men’s tennis have departed in quick succession from the grasscourt grand slam, both walloped by members of a brash new generation of big hitters with no fear and scant regard for reputations.
“Everyone’s starting to get better,” a downbeat Murray said.
“The younger guys are now obviously becoming more mature and improving all the time.”
It’s one thing surrendering your crown, but to suffer such a remorseless beating on your own turf in front of Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, was especially galling.
Yet Murray said: “It’s not the toughest loss of my career; that was losing in the final here in 2012 (against Roger Federer).”
Top seed Novak Djokovic, the man Murray beat a year ago to end Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s Wimbledon champion, nearly went the same way before restoring order by digging himself out of a hole to beat dangerous Croatian Marin Cilic 6-1 3-6 6-7 6-2 6-2 and set up a clash with Dimitrov.
Later, seven-times champion Federer made more progress in the tournament after beating fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in his quarter-final 3-6 7-6 6-4 6-4.
With cracks beginning to show in the top echelons of the men’s game, Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard and Romania’s Simona Halep heightened the sense of a changing of the guard in women’s tennis as both reached the semi-finals.
Bouchard, 20, beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-4 while Romanian third seed Halep, 22, continued her fantastic year to overcome last year’s runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-4 6-0.
They will face-off today, when both will become the first women from their respective countries to play in a Wimbledon semi-final.
Of the last four standing in the women’s draw, only 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has tasted grand slam glory.
A growing sense of disbelief settled over Centre Court and outside on the sun-baked hill, where thousands had assembled to watch on the huge screen, as Murray’s imperious charge towards a second consecutive title came off the rails.
Murray had looked impeccable on his way to the quarter-finals, not dropping a set and wasting little energy, but 25 minutes after starting against Dimitrov he was already a set down and in deep trouble.
Such was the quality of the 11th seed’s tennis that Murray could have been excused for thinking it was Federer in his prime on the other side of the net.
Dimitrov has been saddled with comparisons to the Swiss maestro, given his smooth movement and elegant strokes, but until last year his real talent had not burst through. With coach Roger Rasheed and girlfriend Maria Sharapova in his corner, however, Dimitrov now looks ready to jump the queue of those waiting to get their hands on some major silverware – and few would bet against it happening at Wimbledon.
“Dimitrov is in a semi-final and he will say, why can’t I beat Federer or Djokovic?” former champion Jimmy Connors, who was commentating for the BBC, said of the player who won the Queen’s Club grasscourt title last month.
Other result: Raonic bt Kyrgios 6-7 6-2 6-4 7-6.