7:31pm Friday 3rd July 2009
By Echo Reporter
ANDY Murray's dream of reaching the Wimbledon final was crushed today by Andy Roddick in a dramatic semi-final.
The British number one went into the match as a hot favourite to beat the sixth seed, who he had defeated in six of their eight previous meetings, but Roddick produced a brilliant performance to triumph 6-4 4-6 7-6 (9/7) 7-6 (7/5).
Murray was punished for being too passive in the opening set and, although he bounced back in the second, Roddick's bullet serving and consistent all-round game earned him a third Wimbledon final appearance against Roger Federer.
Murray said: "You always expect your opponents to play well at this stage of the tournament.
"I had a few chances in the first tie-break and chances early in the third set and I didn't take them.
"I thought I played well.
"He served really, really well.
"Hitting at that pace at such a high percentage, sometimes there's not a whole lot you can do."
Roddick, 26, said: "I had to play my best tennis to win. Not many people were giving me much of a chance.
"Throughout my career I've had a lot of shortcomings but trying hard isn't one of them. He had all the pressure on him. It's just a dream."
Roddick began in typical fashion with two aces in the opening game. And the American immediately took Murray, who was bidding to become the first British male singles finalist since Bunny Austin in 1938, to deuce - only to see two aces flying past him.
The Scot unsurprisingly looked a little nervous, and Roddick showed his phenomenal serve was working well by sending down the fastest delivery of the tournament at 143mph.
Murray was struggling to find his first serve rhythm but his prowess off the ground kept him out of trouble as he made it 3-3 with a classy volley.
The 22-year-old was making more errors than usual, perhaps feeling the occasion, and he found himself set point down serving at 5-4 behind thanks to a lovely Roddick drop shot.
And the sixth seed took advantage of his first chance with a cross-court forehand that forced Murray to net.
The British number one came back with a newly-aggressive attitude, as he fought back to level the match.
But Roddick continued to impress and eventually sealed a fine victory.
The American said of his opponent: "He's been a much better player than I have over the last year but I was a little bit better today."
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