TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS:THROUGHOUT THESE long evenings it has essentially been a question of faith. It helps through the more troubled night sessions, the periods of doubt, the questioning and the hand-wringing. But this is not the brittle Tim Henman, the talented player who a nation wished to clothe in chain mail and send into battle breathing fire on Centre Court. This is not the meek and non-combative slice of middle England on which champion's garb hung loose and ill-fitting. This is Murray, not Henman. In Murray the fans have faith.
There was no question that last night for the first time under the closed roof and artificial lighting Murray pulled the crowd to him on crests of momentum and then pushed them to the edge as Stanislas Wawrinka refused to break.
But there was never the mood that this game would unravel beyond Murray’s repair against an intelligent Swiss player, who had never before been to a Grand Slam quarter-final but was in the form of his life. Murray was doubtlessly in difficulty at the beginning of the match and early on the Centre Court crowd was entirely subdued by Wawrinka’s explosive start to the match. Murray’s first serve was misfiring and the Swiss 19th seed took full advantage.
After 25 minutes Murray finally won his first game of the match for 4-1. But by that stage the first foreboding set was closed as Wawrinka obligingly put his opponent’s poor beginning to bed, taking the set 6-2.
There was little panic or sign of nerves from the Scot, who seemed to be working out what the best way forward might be. But his early-match energy levels looked low and he was giving points away with less stubborn protest than usual.
That first set had Murray delivering his first serve at a damning 44 per cent but more critically Wawrinka was bossing play, shaping the points and offloading his wonderful backhand as Murray hit short. He was also mixing it cleverly in the way Murray usually does and it was clear the 24-year-old was not going to give the local hero the game he wanted.
While the Scot raised it in the second set, Wawrinka continued to play intelligently and remained the dominant force. Although he called for the trainer after the seventh game and received a leg massage, he didn’t look hampered.
Shortly after that Murray was on to him and beginning to get a look at his service games. He earned his first set point at 4-3 and while he missed the first he took the second offer and broke for 5-3 as Wawrinka hit his reliable backhand wide.
The crowd then decided to get involved, Ewan McGregor, Ian Hislop and Clive Woodward lending their voices to the din as Murray aced his man 6-3 for the set and 1-1.
Another swing in the third set rolled the match towards Murray as he saved three break points and immediately earned three in the seventh game. Again one service break was all he needed to lead 2-1.
Murray’s court speed was impressive and he had the crowd with him as darkness descended. The closed roof and dozens of lights threw faded indoor shadows with Centre Court more claustrophobic and louder than ever.
Outside the fans remained seated on the grass in half-moon darkness watching events unfold on the big screen. But it didn’t subdue Wawrinka, who forced his man to grind for the inches. These were hard yards for both.
Murray could have been serving for the match but squandered break points at 4-3 up in the fourth set. He then forced Wawrinka to serve to stay in it leading 5-4 as it moved past the longest ever Wimbledon finish, previously 9.35pm.
Wawrinka didn’t falter, Murray didn’t budge as the match passed the three-hour mark. The BBC shifted their 10 o’clock news as both of the players clearly tired. When Murray hit a few loose points and finally a backhand into the net to hand over his serve in the fourth set at 6-5, a fifth set was required to separate the two.
It looked good initially for Murray as he sped to 3-0. Wawrinka broke back. The match refused to be straightforward, seemingly always returning to stalemate. The crowd kept to their seats and their faith.
Murray broke for 5-3. Finally a chink of weakness was exposed. Could he, after four hours play, serve out for the match and earn a meeting with Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarter-finals? It moved to 40-15 for Murray and the crowd rose to their feet. A forehand to the corner with Wawrinka out wide finished it, Murray falling to his knees.
Faith repaid.