• Wimbledon, Day 11

Murray's Wimbledon dream dies again at Nadal's hand

Rafael Nadal was a deserved winner against Andy Murray © Getty Images

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Wimbledon Day 11 Gallery
Djokovic reaches first Wimbledon final
Plays of the Day: Theatrics and circus acts

Andy Murray once again suffered defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal in a Wimbledon semi-final, as the Spaniard moved into the final in four sets despite a valiant effort from the Scot on Friday.

Murray surprised the current world No. 1 to snatch the first set with a last-gasp break of serve, but it wasn't long before Nadal truly found his rhythm, picking up early breaks in each of the next three sets on the way to a deserved 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4 success.

Defending champion Nadal will now move on to his fourth successive Wimbledon final (if his absence from the 2009 tournament is excused), while Murray - who seemed affected by a hip problem during parts of the contest - can do little but reflect on his third semi-final defeat in a row at the All England Club, and the second in as many years against Nadal.

The opening set between the two was a hard-fought affair, as neither player gave an inch once the contest got underway. The opening 11 games all went with serve, with neither player able to create more than a sniff at a break point as a smattering of nerves prevented half-chances being turned into something more.

But in the final service game before a tiebreak that all changed, as Nadal faltered slightly under the pressure his opponent put him under. Murray managed to engineer three break point opportunities after forcing Nadal into rifling two baseline shots long and another flicked lob wide of sideline - giving himself a glorious opportunity to stick his nose in front.

And the crowd on Centre Court were on their feet when Murray successfully converted the second of those three opportunities, after Nadal uncharacteristically sliced a backhand into the net to give his opponent the set.

Murray seemed buoyed by that success at the beginning of the second set, playing some scintillating tennis to preserve his own serve while putting the Spaniard under some serious pressure on his. But he Scot blundered when presented with a glorious chance to pick up an early break, however, firing a wide-open forehand long with the score at 15-30, enabling Nadal to go on and retain parity in the stanza.

It perhaps demonstrated a slight lack of ruthlessness that was immediately to prove costly, as Nadal profited from a few unforced errors and exhibited an impressive ability to cover the court on the way to creating his first break point of the match - which he would take after Murray carelessly drove a forehand smash long, with his opponent scrambling desperately.

That game signified an upturn in Nadal's performance, as he finally began to find his range and rhythm after a start that saw him a little short of his usually glorious best. That was a worrying development for Murray, who got nowhere near breaking back immediately before dropping his service game once again, meekly putting his baseline forehand into the net as Nadal took a 5-2 advantage.

Murray, who had seemed affected by a hip flexor problem almost from the start of the match, began to wince more and more as he was forced to cover a huge amount of the court as Nadal really moved through the gears - eventually going on not to make a single unforced error in the entire second set. But the Scot gritted his teeth and did his best to stay with him, even if Nadal increasingly came up with point-winning shots that defied logic.

Andy Murray could not find a way back into the match once the momentum swung Nadal's way © PA Photos

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The third set began with a phenomenal forehand winner from Nadal to take the opening point on Murray's serve, an omen of things to come. An ace from Murray exemplified the fighting qualities that remained, but nevertheless the momentum was otherwise all with Nadal, who took a second early break in as many sets - after Murray flew another routine forehand shot beyond the baseline - to finally take control of the contest.

Another break to reinforce his superiority soon followed, as Nadal moved into a position to serve for the set. A double-fault on his first such point gave a glimpse into the nerves the 25-year-old may have still be feeling, but another netted effort from Murray (aided by a prior net cord that favoured the Spaniard) put him within a set of another final at SW19.

The fourth set began in the same vein as the third, with Nadal immediately breaking Murray's serve - and perhaps what was left of his resolve - with an incredible display of returning.

Converting once again to put himself 2-1 ahead, the Spaniard looked to be well on course for another All England Final. Murray, to his credit, did not crumble completely - as he held serve under severe duress before somehow engineering a first break point since the first set after sending Nadal the wrong way with a close range forehand.

Nadal would not be bullied, however, as he managed to put home a drop volley that Murray was unable to get to (a fact that led the Scot to throw down his hat in frustration), despite giving himself something of an opportunity after a fine return of a powerful first serve.

A robust forehand that Nadal was unable to get back in the court set up a second opportunity, but even on Nadal's second serve he was unable to convert - as the Spaniard sent Murray and his injured hip dashing around all corners of the court in search of a ball that he could eventually only put back in the net.

After those scares Nadal made no mistakes to move 3-1 ahead, and from there he made sure not to give his opponent any further chances on his serve - holding to love with the scores at 4-3 to ensure he would have at least one opportunity to serve for the match.

That hurdle didn't look like needing to be overcome, as Nadal engineered yet another break point to give himself the first match point of the contest. But a defiant ace extinguished that opening, as Murray went on to hold and put a final dose of pressure on the ten-time grand slam winner.

A late renaissance was not to be, however, as the effort required to keep up with Nadal took its toll on Murray, as he made two unforced errors and was sent the wrong way by Nadal to set up three match points - the second of which was taken with a suitably emphatic forehand across court.

Nadal can now look ahead to a Sunday final against Djokovic, who defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga earlier in the day and in the process took away the world No. 1 ranking from the Spaniard.

Murray, meanwhile, is free to make his way to Germany for friend David Haye's heavyweight world title fight against Wladimir Klitschko - and continue to wonder what exactly he needs to do to make a final at Wimbledon.

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