Wimbledon Championships
Venue: All England Club, London Date: 21 June - 4 July
Coverage: Live on BBC One and Two, HD, Red Button, BBC Sport website (UK only), Radio 5 live, 5 live sports extra; live text commentary online and on mobile phones; watch again on BBC iPlayer
Full details of BBC coverage
Deflated Murray still targets Grand Slam title
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By Caroline Cheese
BBC Sport at Wimbledon |
Andy Murray admitted the disappointment of losing his Wimbledon semi-final was all the greater because it came in front of his home crowd.
The 23-year-old missed out on becoming Britain's first men's finalist for 72 years as he was beaten 6-4 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 by world number one Rafael Nadal.
"I want to win it for myself, the guys I work with and for the UK," he said.
"I'm a little bit more disappointed than other Grand Slams because this one is the biggest of the year for me."
Murray fell at the semi-final stage for the second year running, but may eventually take some solace in bringing the very best out of the 2008 champion, and he was convinced he got his tactics right.
"I'm annoyed I lost this match," said the world number four.
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I'll look back at the tournament as a whole as a good one, just not great
Andy Murray
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"You're not going to be able to play every single point on your terms against the best player in the world.
"It's not like I played badly. He played great, and that was the difference. He didn't have a break point until the last couple of games. I was obviously doing something right."
Murray's form en route to the semi-finals had once again raised hopes that he might end Britain's 74-year wait for a British men's champion at Wimbledon.
But British players have now lost 10 semi-finals since Bunny Austin reached the 1938 final, two years after Fred Perry won the title.
"There's a lot of pressure playing here, but it doesn't affect the outcome of my matches, it's not a valid excuse," said Murray.
"A few weeks ago, no one would have given me much hope of getting to the semis because I wasn't playing well.
"I played a good tournament, but right now I'm very disappointed at the match today. I'll look back at the tournament as a whole as a good one, just not great."
Murray's search for a first Grand Slam title goes on after defeats in the US and Australian Open finals and two semi-final losses at Wimbledon.
Murray will win Grand Slam very soon - Nadal
Nadal believes Murray will break his duck "very soon", to which Murray responded: "It's nice to hear obviously... doesn't make losing in one any easier."
After losing to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final, Murray struggled to find his best form until he arrived at Wimbledon, but he is hopeful he will not now suffer a similar letdown.
"I hope it spurs me on," he said.
"Just because it happened to me once, whether it was to do with the loss in Australia, whether it was other things going on, you never know.
"But, you know, I work hard, and I hope it doesn't happen again. I've normally played well in the American hard court stretch after Wimbledon. Hopefully I'll play well again now."
Murray, who has opted out of Britain's Davis Cup tie against Turkey next week, now plans to take a holiday before his scheduled return at the Toronto Masters at the beginning of August.
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