Andy Murray’s Wimbledon thrillride ends as Shapovalov breaks new ground

Andy Murray’s inspiring run at Wimbledon has come to a close, but Denis Shapovalov is still gunning for glory at SW19.

Denis Shapovalov Wimbledon 2021

July 3, 2021

Andy Murray took the British faithful on a week-long thrillride that saw him leave everything on the court in the hunt for former glory. On Friday on Centre Court, playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in four years, the two-time Wimbledon champion saw his progress halted by a hard-charging Canadian seeking a taste of that same glory.

Denis Shapovalov was too good for Murray on Day 5 at Wimbledon, and the straight-as-an-arrow scoreline is indicative of the type of relentless aggression that the No 10 seed used to stop 34-year-old Murray in his tracks.

Disappointment, but also progress, for Murray

Friday’s lopsided loss was a clear demonstration of just how far Murray needs to come if he really intends to be a factor in the second week of Grand Slam events again. But his electrifying performance in the first two rounds demonstrates how much he has left to give.

“It’s extremely frustrating, because I feel like I put a lot of work into getting to this point, and then obviously to lose like that is tough,” Murray said. “Being as good as he is. I don’t want to take anything away from his performance. He played really, really well. But, you know, if I’m going to put that much effort in, I want to be performing better than what I did here. Even though there were some great moments.”

Limited to just five matches before Wimbledon in 2021, Murray has struggled to find any rhythm. He missed the Australian Open due to a positive Covid-19 test result and then played three matches at Montpellier and Rotterdam before missing the next three months.

Shapovalov eager to test himself in week two

Shapovalov’s brand of high-octane tennis served him well on Friday. In his first appearance on Centre Court the Canadian took the play to Murray from start to finish. He weathered a rough patch in the opening set in which Murray rallied from 5-1 down to 5-4 down, but Shapovalov was pedal to the metal from there as he sped to victory.

“Every point, I was just trying to compete the best I can, and I really felt like I was in every single point today,” Shapovalov said. “So I’m really, really happy with myself on that. It was definitely one of my better matches in that case. I feel like I didn’t give away almost anything. I really was making him earn a lot and really dictating when I had chances.”

Shapovalov cracked 45 winners against just 24 unforced errors and he held serve in all but one of his service games. He won 25 more points than Murray over the course of the two hour and 17-minute match.