LONDON (Reuters) – This time not even Wimbledon’s roof could rescue Andy Murray as the home favourite and two-time champion was thrashed by impressive Canadian youngster Denis Shapovalov in the third round on Friday.
Twice this week the 34-year-old Murray had rolled back the years with late-night wins after the Centre Court roof slid shut, but Shapovalov proved a step too far as the 22-year-old dished out a 6-4 6-2 6-2 beating.
The 34-year-old Murray, back in the singles at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017 after two hip surgeries, had thrilled his fans with dramatic victories over seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and German qualifier Oscar Otte.
Tenth seed Shapovalov silenced the home crowd, however, to reach the Wimbledon last 16 for the first time.
Things started badly for Murray as slipped over in the second game and he had no answer as Shapovalov built a 5-1 lead.
Roared on by a raucous crowd, Murray clawed back three games and was close to making it 5-5 but Shapovalov held his nerve to close out the opening set.
Left-hander Shapovalov dominated the second set with some ferocious hitting and Murray’s only hope was that a short break while the roof was closed and lights turned on would enable him to summon another comeback.
But Shapovalov was ruthless on the resumption, showing no mercy to close out the contest and set up a last-16 clash against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
