Murray Dethroned by Another Young Star

WIMBLEDON, England - It is only one tournament, but in many minds it is the biggest tournament, tennis's grandest stage. So let the speculation begin that the reign of the Big 4 in the men's game might have come to an unceremonious end during Wimbledon's second week.

On successive days on Centre Court, former champions have been dismissed by younger players who had never played this deep into a Grand Slam event. After 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios's four-set dismissal of the two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round Tuesday, Grigor Dimitrov, a rising 23-year-old Bulgarian, defeated Andy Murray of Britain, the defending champion, in a stunning 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2 quarterfinal Wednesday.

Dimitrov, formerly referred to as Baby Fed because of resemblances in his game to Roger Federer's, had beaten Murray in their previous match, in Mexico. He had also won the Aegon Championships, the pre-Wimbledon grass-court event in London.

But few expected the beating he delivered to Murray, who had won 17 straight matches at Wimbledon, including the 2012 Summer Olympics. Murray also had not dropped a set in his first four matches of this tournament.

Dimitrov, however, said he could sense that Murray's game 'was not at the highest level' as they warmed up in front of the crowd, most of it expectant - or at least hopeful - of a Murray victory.

Dimitrov also said he had been helped by several practice sessions with Murray, whom he considers a friend. The sessions helped him develop a familiarity with Murray's diverse game.

It was Dimitrov who started tentatively, missing on a couple of ground strokes that gave Murray a break point in the first game of the match. But Dimitrov held, quickly got into a rhythm and broke Murray in the fourth game on the way to cruising in a 25-minute first set.

Dimitrov's service game was bigger. His ground strokes were bolder. And he feasted on Murray's second serve, with Murray winning only 10 of 32 second-serve points for the match.

The second set established Dimitrov as the superior player and eliminated any thoughts that the stage would ultimately get the best of him. Having broken Murray for a 4-3 lead, Dimitrov had a game point for 5-3 when he suddenly played a few loose points, floating his sliced backhand, and was broken right back.

After the disappointment of wasting two more break points in the 11th game, Dimitrov took control of the tiebreaker with a backhand pass off a short Murray approach.

'My start of the match was poor, and that gave him confidence,' Murray said. 'When I got back into the second set, that was my opportunity. The momentum was switching - I couldn't do it.'

Murray added, 'He was the better player from start to finish.'

Dimitrov, the No. 11 seed, will play Novak Djokovic or Marin Cilic in the semifinals. Murray, 27, eliminated much earlier than expected in his first tournament with his new coach, Amélie Mauresmo, will move on to the hardcourt season.

England, which was hoping that Murray, a Scotsman, would ease the pain of its poor showing at the World Cup, will have to be satisfied with the memory of 2013.