Having lost to a motivated John Isner in the second round on Wednesday, two-time champion Andy Murray experienced his early departure from Wimbledon.
Murray had won all eight of their prior encounters, but in their first meeting on grass, the 20th-seeded American out-served Murray magnificently to secure an outstanding triumph.
Isner, 37, won 43 of 61 points at the net, struck 82 winners, including 36 aces, and claimed both of his two break points.
Isner stated, "Look, it's no secret that I am not a better tennis player than Andy Murray. I believe I performed somewhat better than he did today.
"At the age I am today, I need to savor these occasions. One of my career's biggest victories is this one. It is a major accomplishment for me to have played as well as I did against one of our greatest players in history. He is a huge source of motivation for each and every person in the locker room."
Murray, 35, dropped his serve in the third game after missing two weeks of competitive play before Wimbledon due to an abdominal issue.
In the next game, he created two break opportunities, but Isner, 37, saved both and held onto the lead to win the opening set.
Murray rallied to win the third set in a tiebreak, 7-3 after Isner had won the second set tiebreak 7-4.
Isner broke for a 3-2 victory despite Murray having the momentum. When play resumed after the roof was closed due to darkness at 4-2, Murray held and subsequently had a 0-30 advantage on Isner's serve, but he was unable to take advantage.
Murray held for a score of 5-4, but Isner easily served out to set up a third-round matchup with 10th seed Jannik Sinner.
Murray expressed disappointment that the abdominal ailment he sustained in Stuttgart earlier this month had limited his ability to prepare for the competition.
I was in a good spot with my game, so it's annoying, he added. "That was ineffective. The good news is that I was in good physical condition throughout the contests. On the Wednesday and Thursday before the event, it was rather uncertain how I would do. On the court, though, I felt strong physically. I just wasn't able to get through today."
Murray stated that he intends to attend Wimbledon again.
It depends on my physical condition, he answered. I feel okay physically, so let's attempt to continue playing. Making long-term forecasts about how I'll be in a year, much alone a few weeks from now, is quite difficult, though, given the issues I've had with my body in recent years.
"I will continue to play if I'm in good physical shape. However, maintaining my body in top shape to compete at the highest level is difficult.
Now Murray is working to raise his ranking from 52, where it now stands, to a position where he will be a Grand Slam seed.
I thought I could have a deep run going into Wimbledon," he remarked. "It certainly becomes a little bit more difficult if you are playing against great players right at the start of the competition. I guess you could say that's what I want to do before the US Open."
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