Andy Murray’s run at Wimbledon is short and bittersweet

LONDON – Streams of glum British tennis fans filed quietly out of Centre Court on Friday, moments after their Scottish hero had himself departed with a quick two-handed wave before disappearing from their sight.

Andy Murray, a two-time Wimbledon champion who has extended his career to age 36 after two hip surgeries, was battling to stretch his run into the third round at the All England Club, and was carrying most of the 15,000 fans in the stadium along for the ride.

As the match against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas played out over two days, his fans shrieked at his better moments, sat hushed for the lesser ones and cheered supportively before critical points.

They were hoping to provide him with the emotional lift needed to propel his weary body on, knowing there is always a chance they might never see him compete at Wimbledon again.

But the task over five punishing sets was too formidable, and the result cast a gloom over an otherwise glorious day of sunshine and tennis at Wimbledon.

Murray, still striving to regain the consistently elite form he once possessed,

fell to Tsitsipas

7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (2-7), 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in a match so close that he outscored his Greek opponent in overall points 176-169.

“I’m obviously very disappointed right now. You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to play here,” he said.

Murray’s dreary mood was reflected all around the grounds on a difficult day for British players and their fans. The 12th-seeded Cameron Norrie, Britain’s No. 1 player, lost to unseeded American Chris Eubanks and Liam Broady, the British No. 2, fell to Canadian Denis Shapovalov, leaving just Katie Boulter as the sole local hope in the singles.

But with Murray, it is different. For two decades, British tennis supporters have watched while he converted the promise of his junior career into glory when, under great pressure in 2013, he became the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon, Britain’s home tournament and the premier event on the tour.

Three years later, he did it again, adding to the US Open title and the Olympic gold medal in London he had won in 2012.

He has been No. 1 in the world, and good enough for long enough to have earned membership among the “Big Four” of men’s tennis that comprised the now-retired Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

However, recent losses in the first rounds of most of the top-flight tournaments he entered have raised doubts.

Still, his public held out hope, and did their part, beginning on Thursday night, when Murray and Tsitsipas began the match. When Murray won the second set in a tiebreak, fans erupted, and optimism was rebooted.

An energised Murray then had a set point in the third set, but fell to the grass in pain, yelling and clutching at the top of his right leg.

It appeared serious, but he struggled to his feet, danced it out at the baseline and then served a winner to take the set as the crowd roared once more.

On Friday, some conditions were completely different. The roof was open; the sun shone in. But the crowd was still as vociferous, both in the stadium and on Henman Hill, where many hundreds of fans baked in the sun to watch on the large video screen.

Murray arrived at Wimbledon hoping it would be his breakthrough event, and he would make a bold run into the second week.

With so few opportunities left to play in this hallowed venue, he was asked if the loss hurt even more, after all the struggles he has been through to get here. He paused and thought.

“Yeah, the defeats maybe feel a bit tougher. But, to be honest, every year that Wimbledon has not gone how I would like, it’s been hard,” he said.

He has given no indication that he intends to retire in the coming months. But decisions are sometimes made after a particularly dispiriting loss, and Murray, in his low, brooding tone, said he could not be certain.

“Motivation is obviously a big thing,” he explained. “Continuing having early losses in tournaments like this don’t necessarily help with that.” NYTIMES