London: Andy Murray`s Wimbledon title defence evaporated on Centre Court in a painful five-set demise to Sam Querrey on Wednesday as the hip injury that has dogged the world number one throughout the tournament finally got the better of him.
The same fate awaited three-time winner Novak Djokovic, who was forced to retired from the quarter-final match against Tomas Berdych. But Swiss maestro produced a stunning display of grass court tennis to beat Milos Raonic 6-4 6-2 7-6(4) and reach the semi-finals for a record 12th time.
Murray`s hopes of becoming the first Briton to retain a grand salam title since Fred Perry in 1936 were shredded as he hobbled helplessly to a 3-6 6-4 6-7(4) 6-1 6-1 quarter-final defeat.
The encounter ended in almost brutal fashion, as Murray struggled to move freely around the court in the final two sets and the big-serving Querrey ruthlessly put him to the sword, wrapping up victory with his 27th booming ace.
Despite the best efforts of the Centre Court crowd to cajole a miracle recovery from the limping Briton, Murray`s troublesome hip proved beyond help and he was swiftly dispatched, with the final two sets taking just under 47 minutes.
Querrey can now lay claim to the title of Wimbledon`s chief giant-killer, after slaying then champion Novak Djokovic last year. He becomes the first American man to reach a grand slam semi-final since Andy Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009.
"I`m still in shock myself," he said after setting up a semi-final encounter with Marin Cilic.
"I didn`t start my best but kept with it and kept swinging and I hit my groove in the fourth and fifth sets.
"It feels great and it`s a dream come true ... to get to a semi-final and have it happen at Wimbledon makes it a bit more special."
Having toured the game`s most awkward and unconventional opponents in the opening four rounds, Murray finally got to face a more routine tennis archetype.
There are few surprises with Querrey`s game. He stands at 6 foot 6 inches (1.98 metres) and uses his giant frame to launch bullets from the sky and backs up his huge serve with an occasional haymaker forehand.
His gameplan seemed to involve turning Centre Court into a firing range which brought him little success in the opening set, but as Murray`s movement became increasingly pained, the match turned emphatically in the American`s favour.
Querrey would have been hard pushed to imagine such a glorious ending as Murray punished him almost at will in the opening set, when it was Murray`s serve that did the greater damage and the 29-year-old seemed wracked with nerves.
Murray claimed that in 28 minutes and there was barely a hint of his vulnerability when he broke for a 4-3 lead in the second.
There were stunned murmurs of discontent from the home crowd, however, as Querrey broke twice to level the match, wrapping up the second set with a beautiful backhand winner.
That still seemed only a momentary blip for the champion, who broke immediately at the start of the third set to move back into a short-lived ascendancy.
Querrey struck back in the 10th game forcing the set into a tiebreak and while Murray held his nerve to move back into the lead, from that point the writing was on the wall.
The home fans willed their man to scramble freely around the court, but his grimaces told their own story as he looked up to his box and seemed to mouth "it`s gone, it`s gone" in the fourth set.
Querrey won nine games in a row to take the fourth and open up a 3-0 lead in the fifth, before breaking again to move one game from victory.
Two Querrey aces helped bring up three match points and one more finished the job off, leaving Murray to salute the home fans with an almost apologetic wave goodbye.
"The whole tournament I`ve been a little bit sore," Murray told reporters.
"But I tried my best right to the end, gave everything I had. I`m proud about that."
Roger Federer turned his 100th Wimbledon match into an exhibition as he outclassed big-serving Canadian Raonic.
The Swiss, who turns 36 next month, played his best tennis of the tournament to dismantle the big-serving Canadian who knocked him out at the semi-final stage last year.
Seven-times champion Federer hit two rasping backhand winners and a forehand that had Raonic ducking for cover to break serve in the fifth game.
Sixth seed Raonic`s belief ebbed away at the start of the second set when he offered up another break with a careless forehand and Federer went for the jugular with a further break of the Canadian`s delivery as he established a two-set lead.
Federer was made to sweat a little in the third set and had to save four break points at 3-4 as Raonic finally began to hit his groundstrokes with more menace.
In day's another shock, former world number one from Serbia lost the first set in tie-breaker 7-6 (7-2) , and was 2-0 down in the second when he had to retire.
The 30-year-old 12-time Grand Slam singles winner had treatment on a right shoulder injury during his last-16 win over Adrian Mannarino of France. The Serb roped in American legend Andre Agassi as his coach ahead of the tournament, and was hoping to win the title and reclaim the world number one spot.
For world number 15 Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, will face Roger Federer in the semi-final.
Raonic went 3-0 ahead in the tiebreak too but 18-times major champion Federer responded with two majestic forehand passes as he regained control with five points in a row.
An 11th ace brought up a match point and Federer clinched victory when Raonic shunted a backhand wide.
Federer has yet to drop a set in the tournament this year and with defending champion Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal all out he is a huge favourite to become the first man to win the Wimbledon title eight times.
Gilles Muller`s unlikely Wimbledon run came to an end when he was beaten in five sets by Croatian Marin Cilic in their quarter-final.
Cilic, who triumphed 3-6 7-6(6) 7-5 5-7 6-1 will now face Sam Querrey in the semi-finals after the American upset home favourite Andy Murray.
The 34-year-old Muller was an unexpected presence in the last eight after he pulled off a surprise, five-set win over Rafa Nadal in the fourth round.
Muller took that form into the contest with Cilic but when his run of 31 service games without a break ended in the third set, the tide turned towards the Croat, who produced some magnificent return play in the final set.
(With Reuters inputs)
