Murray crushed by ruthless Nadal

ANDY Murray's Wimbledon dream was dashed in pitiless style by Rafael Nadal last night, when the Spaniard won their quarter-final in straight sets on Centre Court. As the 21-year-old Scot admitted, Nadal, a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 winner in a match which lasted an hour and 55 minutes, was simply superior in almost every aspect of play.

Even allowing for the difference in quality between Nadal and Richard Gasquet of France, Murray lacked the inspiration which had taken him through in five sets against the Frenchman in the previous round. Having celebrated his strength and stamina after that inspiring victory on Monday evening, Murray was reluctant to accept that he was tired against Nadal, but there was little doubt that some of his mental edge, at least, was lacking.

There is no disgrace in losing to a player of such quality – one, moreover, who Murray reckons could even be a slight favourite in a final against Roger Federer if he maintains the standard he displayed yesterday evening. The British No 1 knows there is a gulf in class between the world's top two tennis players and him and the other hopefuls. But, in upbeat mood after having gone further in a grand slam than ever before, he insisted that with a lot of hard work he could bridge that gulf.

"He played so much better than me," the No 12 seed said after a match which started at 6.30pm, following rain delays to the previous contest, Federer's win over Mario Ancic. "I didn't feel like I played my best, which is a bit disappointing, but regardless, he was playing too well, probably, for me. His forehand was ridiculous. He's hitting the ball so close to the line so hard that it was difficult for me to get into a rhythm. I felt rushed on every point. It's amazing how fast he's hitting the ball and how much control he has over it."

Murray is rightly pleased with the way a hard-working winter in the gym has paid off for him in terms of extra strength and durability, but as he acknowledged, Nadal too has moved on, particularly on grass.

"I have to look on it as a good thing, to see that I can improve so many things in my game," said Murray. "It's up to me to make sure I go and do that.

"He's improved his game a lot on grass. He's definitely the second best grasscourt player behind Federer, and is closer to him this year than he was.

"If he plays like that and returns like that he's very close to being the favourite to win the tournament. I think he's got a very, very good chance of winning. He was close last year and I think he's playing better than he was last year.

"But I have to look at my game, work on some things, and work even harder and try to get up to that level, which I do think is possible. It's just going to take a lot of hard work."

Murray had insisted from before the tournament that he could not go into it believing that anything less than winning would be satisfactory. Having successfully negotiated one round more than before, however, he was able to reflect on what has to go down as an improvement, albeit one which still leaves him some way behind the big two.

"I've got to try and be positive about the whole two weeks. The match against Gasquet is one of the best matches I've ever played in. (And I had] three solid matches before that against good players.

"I mean, it's been a positive tournament for me. I got further than my seeding and ranking suggested. I'm going to be back in the top ten at the end of the week, which is something I felt I was good enough to do. Now I've got to try and stay there."

While happy with his own game, Nadal praised that of his opponent too. "He's going to be in the top positions. Well, he is in the top positions already, but he's going to be in the top five. If he continues like this, the competition and having more matches on his shoulders are going to give him the confidence to be in the top five, I think."

Nadal now goes on to a semi-final against either Arnaud Clement or Rainer Schuettler, whose quarter-final will resume today, weather permitting, at a set apiece. Murray will go home, rest for a couple of days, then plan for the hardcourt season in the United States.