Murray reached his second Grand Slam Final in Australia – CC BY-SA
The repeated cries of “Come on, Andy!” from the Centre Court crowd went along the continuum as Andy Murray’s short stay at Wimbledon ended.
In the tournament’s second round, Murray could not overcome the big serves of John Isner, who was ranked 20th in the world. He lost to the American 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-7(7-3), 6-4. It was a disappointing evening for the locals, who were treated to a performance that was not ideal for the tournament’s main stadium.
When asked if he would like to return to Wimbledon next year, the 35-year-old said it would depend on his health. Murray added that if he felt good, he would continue playing.
Murray underwent multiple operations on his hip and had an abdominal issue that prevented him from training properly.
Aside from becoming the first British man to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title in 77 years, he also made it to the third round in 13 previous appearances. He lost in the first round in 2005 and in 2021.
Isner, 37 years old when he faced off against Murray, admitted that he was not a better player than the former world number one.
“It’s no secret that I am most definitely not a better tennis player than Andy Murray. I might have been just a little bit better than him today,” Isner praised Murray. “It was an incredible honour to play him on this court, in front of this crowd. At the age I’m at now, I need to relish these moments. This was one of the biggest wins of my career.”
Murray cannot overcome Isner’s serve
Despite his shortcomings, Murray could still hit crisp groundstrokes and get around the court well enough to fight Isner. He also had 39 winners, 13 unforced errors, returned well and often got his shots over the net.
Unfortunately, Murray could not overcome Isner’s massive serves, which he hit 36 times. The 6-foot-10 Isner also had 60 unreturned serves during the match, which lasted over three and a half hours.
Murray, who entered the match with an impressive 8-0 record against Isner, only managed to get two break points during the match. The first came after Isner had broken him in the first set.
Isner was able to break back in the first set by making a drop volley winner. He also won the point on his own serve by making 43 of 61 attempts at the net.
After the second break chance for Murray, which he received during the game, Isner could close out the set with a service winner.
After winning the third set, which went to a tiebreaker, Murray celebrated by running around and shouting at the crowd. However, it was all over after Isner was able to break back in the fourth set.
Isner attributed his victory to his ability to serve well. He also said he didn’t allow Murray to get around his serve very easily.
“I served,” Isner said. “That’s really all it came down to. I guess I didn’t give him many opportunities to spin his web and get me tangled up in it.”
No pressure, Raducanu says
Before the match between Isner and Murray, another British player was also eliminated. The reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu lost to Caroline Garcia of France in straight sets.
After losing to Garcia, who is ranked 55th in the world, 6-3, 6-3, Raducanu was asked about the pressure that she felt following her impressive win in New York last year. Raducanu dismissed the notion of being under too much pressure, saying that she was still 19 years old and already won a Grand Slam.
