Kevin Eason
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It had been billed as the Battle of the Biceps, but in the end Andy Murray was made to look like a weakling by Rafael Nadal, who dumped him out of Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory last night. The only thing lacking from this one-sided contest was the sand for Nadal to kick into Murray's face, such was the humiliation of their quarter-final encounter.
Britain had been enthralled by Murray's heroics in the fourth round as he tenaciously chased down Richard Gasquet, of France, over a marathon of five thrilling sets to ignite the dream of Wimbledon glory. But the British No1 looked a shadow of the young man everyone had nicknamed Braveheart, who had kissed his new-look muscular bicep at the end of his match with Gasquet and then predicted that he would stand toe to toe with Nadal to slug his way through this crucial match.
If only Murray had got that close. Nadal turned out to be the true muscle man as he put on an awesome display of power tennis that had Murray predicting that the Spaniard could defeat Roger Federer, the defending champion. Federer had been first on Centre Court, cruising through to the semi-finals by beating Mario Ancic, the Croat, in straight sets. He will meet Marat Safin, of Russia, in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Murray said: “Nadal has a great chance of beating Federer. If he plays that well, I think he's close to being favourite to win the tournament. He's got a very good chance of winning. He was close last year [when he lost to Federer in five sets] and he's playing better than he did last year.”

They were generous words in defeat, but the sense of dejection in Murray and the Wimbledon crowd was palpable. Britain had pinned its hopes on a young man who had undergone a strict new training regime to hone his body for the tournament that demands more of him than any other and it all seemed to have been going so well. The Murray Express was roaring towards its destination of a Wimbledon final until it hit the buffers last night in the bulky form of the awesome Nadal.
Murray refused to be cowed by the convincing 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 scoreline, but even he must know that Nadal could represent a blockade that will prevent him from winning a Wimbledon title. At 22, the world No2 from Spain, is only a year older than the man from Dunblane in Scotland, yet he has won four French Open titles and reached the Wimbledon final twice.
Nadal had been to hospital before the match for a scan on a knee injury that had been troubling him. Unfortunately for Murray, the Spaniard was declared fully fit - and it showed. Nadal said: “It was a special match to win against a big player like Andy. I think this is the best I have played at Wimbledon, specially in the second set.”
That was the set in which Nadal allowed Murray to win only two points against his serve, so crushing was his dominance. As the match went on, the Centre Court crowd that had roared and cheered Murray on Monday night fell silent with each flexing of the Nadal biceps as he sent a series of rockets over the net, shots that Murray gave the accolade of the “heaviest in tennis”.
Nadal will have to wait until today to discover who he faces in the semi-finals after the match between the quarter-final outsiders, Rainer Schüttler, ranked No94 in the world, and Arnaud Clément, the world No145, was suspended for bad light, squared at one set each.
The only consolation for the Murray clan was that Jamie, Andy's brother, progressed to the semi-finals of the mixed doubles with his partner, Liezel Huber. But even a repeat of Jamie's 2007 mixed doubles victory is unlikely to ease the pain of Andy's drubbing at the muscular hands of Nadal.
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Andy Murray's being Scottish has nothing to do with people's dislike for him. Instead, his gracelessness and arrogance, and his tantrums on court, leave him floundering in the wake of gentlemen like Federer and Nadal, with their unerring sportsmanship, respectful opinions and good manners.
Eleanor, Derbyshire,
You'll all claim him quickly enough when he wins a Grand Slam title. Or are you the same people who call Tim Henman a failure because he 'only' reached 6 Grand Slam semi-finals? Pathetic.
Sally Wilkins, Carlisle,
men v boys!!!!!!!!
too much (spanish mucsle) i fancy!!!
tony, gillingham dorset, england !!!!!!
Keep up the good wok! You will never give up. your articles yesterday were so funny..... Unfortunately Murray plays in another galaxy far from Earth. let aside Scots hate English to the bone.
jesus ramos, Barcelona,
I was supporting Nadel.
Bye bye Scotsman.
Yours
An Englishman
Tarqin, Aberdeen,
I'm so glad Murray is out. He is too arrogant, too agressive. One doesn't need to bully, or to personaly humiliate his opponent in other to win a game and put a good show. Well done Natal, you are my hero because you are a man of quality. Viva Espana, el mejor the Europa!
Fabio C, London, UK
first of all let me congradulate Rafa,But why the anti Scottish from a few numbskulls down south. Hand on heart what English man would support Scotland in a world cup in football or tiddley winks if England had not qualified for it, any young British sports prospect deserves everyone's backing.
John Casey, Glasgow, Britain
I think Andy Murray did well getting to the quarters. However those of us that follow tennis all year round, not just the two weeks of Wimbledon, were not carried away by the hysteria on Monday night. Gasquet totally outplayed Andy too, but bottled it when serving for the match.
Gen, London, UK
I'm glad there are now no British players left so we won't have to endure the embarrassing hero-worship of third-rate players. Murray is good but nowhere near the best and his arrogance far outweighs his talent. He could learn a lot from talented yet modest Nadal - on court and how to behave off it.
Emma, Southampton, UK
Why all the energy sapping whooping and hollering against Gasquet? Why the flatness of emotion and sad demeanour against Nadal? Why such a bad start in both matches? Why missing the first serve? Why that drop shot? Time to add a sports psychologist and hypnotist to team Murray?
paul, Milton Keynes,
I don't care who wins Wimbledon as long as he's not Scottish - esp. one so graceless and grumpy.
Good result.
Geoff M, Bromsgrove, England
outclassed more like
Morgan, cheltenham,
The Spanish are on the rampage this year.Cue their victory in the just concluded Euro 2008 and Nadal`s own win at Queens. Murray never stood a chance. He gave it his best shot but Nadal was too much for him. As the Spanish have been singing these past weeks `Espana calor`. Spain is hot. I concur.
bimbola jackson, london, uk
Good. After Murry's previous anti English comments I can't say that I'm overly bothered. Another great hope (less) UK tennis player. Will probably make a mint out of being average but our only chance.
Mark Chisholm, Dereham, UK
the form nadal is in, it would have been a miracle if murray had won and there is no disgrace in losing. getting to his first grand slam quarter final can hardly be considered failure. he is clearly not in federer and nadal's league yet and may never be. but he won't starve.
jem, london, uk
Murray will never break into the top 3, he is just another Tim Henman who will never win a Grand Slam tournament. If he had that kind of quality he should have shown it by now at the age of 21. Becker won it at age 17, Federer at 21, Nadal has already won four French Opens at age 22. Hes past it!
Jason, Birmingham,
Andy is a fantastic player. A great entertainer and with real guts. The competition at the top of the game is immense! I just pray he manages to break through and win a grand slam event. Tim Henman will be remembered as "nearly" he took UK tennis to a new level. Andy please go one step further!
Garry, Sheffield,
Regardless of how well Nadal played (and it was very well, of course) Murray had a major problem with not getting his first service in. That's entirely down to him not his opponent and until he can improve that he's not going to win against any top player.
Philip, London,
I didn't mind who won as long as he didn't come from Scotland!.......only joking Andy.
Man against the boy I think!
MIke, Cheltenham, uk
Hello, wake up! Andy Murray is a fine young player, and certainly deserves a place in the world top 20. His play at this Wimbledon has been a revelation. Rafael Nadal is one of the world's top two players - Novak Djokovic is under a small cloud this week - and is obviously a level above Murray.
Tom Welsh, Basingstoke,