Wimbledon 2013

[humbleguy]

Kwa wale wapenzi wa mchezo wa tennis naomba tujumuike kubadilishana mawazo wakati huu the only grand slam inayochezwa kwenye majani ikiendelea....
tayari surprises zishaanza kwani Rafael Nadal kwa mara ya kwanza anatolewa round ya kwanza kwenye grand slam baada ya kufungwa na mchezaji namba 135 steve darcis 6-4,7-6,6-4 wakati andy murray ameshinda kirahisi 6-4,6-3,6-2
kwahio magwiji waliobaki ni novak djokovic,roger federer na andy murray......

 

[BAK]

Mkuu Yegomasika ni aje kule Wimbledon!? Mbona vigogo wote wa Tennis wake kwa waume wanaadhirika na wengine kujitoa mapema kiasi hiki!? Dah! Nilikasirika Nadal alipotolewa na jamaa aliyemtoa kishajitoa, Tsonga kajitoa!!! Federer naye kapiga mweleka!!! Azarenka kajitoa Sharapova kapigwa mweleka Dah!!!! Serena must extra careful to make sure that she defends her title successful.

Tsonga and Azarenka among seven to pull out of Wimbledon
Comments (212)
WIMBLEDON 2013
Venue: All England Club, LondonDate: 24 June - 7 July
Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC HD Channel, Red Button, BBC Radio 5 live, plus 10 live streams available on the BBC Sport website, tablet, mobile and connected TV.

Seven players have been forced to pull out of Wimbledon on Wednesday in the most injury-hit second round in the competition's history.

Women's second seed Victoria Azarenka and men's sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among those who withdrew.

Organisers rejected Azarenka's claims that the courts were of poor quality, describing them as "high quality".

But Maria Sharapova, who lost to Michelle Larcher De Brito on court two, referred to the surface as "dangerous".

The 2004 champion fell three times and required lengthy treatment on her hip in the second set as she went out 6-3 6-4.

Analysis
Image of Sam Smith Sam Smith
Former British number one
"Players these days are more reliant than ever before on traction, especially on hard courts.

"You need to be much gentler and lighter on grass and skip over the surface. You can't be so dependent on pushing off. I think the players are trying to do the same things they do on a hard court and they can't do that on grass.

"Because the bounce is higher these days some of them think, "I'm going to play this like a hard court," and I'm just not sure you can move like that.

"Grass makes you move in a different way to clay and players use completely different muscles and a different technique."

Earlier, Steve Darcis, who beat Rafael Nadal in the first round, pulled out with a shoulder problem, while both Marin Cilic and John Isner retired with knee injuries and a left hamstring problem ended Radek Stepanek's campaign.

Yaroslava Shvedova then also withdrew ahead of her second-round match with eighth seed Petra Kvitova, citing an injury to her right arm.

"There has been a high number of withdrawals at the Championships today and we sympathise with all the players affected," said Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis in a statement.

"The withdrawals have occurred for a variety of reasons, but there have been some suggestion that the court surface is to blame. We have no reason to think this is the case."

Two-time semi-finalist Azarenka fell heavily during Monday's 6-1 6-2 first-round win over Maria Joao Koehler of Portugal and required lengthy treatment before continuing with heavy strapping on her knee.

"The court was not in a very good condition that day. My opponent fell twice and I fell badly," said Azarenka.

"I don't know if it's the court or the weather. I can't figure it out.

"There is nothing I've done wrong that caused me to just withdraw from Wimbledon."

Lewis defended the court preparation, adding it was to "exactly the same meticulous standard as in previous years and it is well known that grass surfaces tend to be more lush at the start of an event.

"The factual evidence, which is independently checked, is that the courts are almost identical to last year, as dry and firm as they should be, and we expect them to continue to play to their usual high quality."

The injured seven
•Victoria Azarenka - knee
•Steve Darcis - shoulder
•John Isner - left knee
•Radek Stepanek - hamstring
•Marin Cilic - left knee
•Yaroslava Shvedova - right arm
•Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - left knee

"Although a number of players have withdrawn injured, only one player has attributed this to slipping over on court."

Tsonga also withdrew with a knee problem while trailing Ernests Gulbis 3-6 6-3 6-3. The number six seed required treatment at the end of the second set but he failed to recover and pulled out at the end of the third.

Darcis, who was scheduled to play Lukasz Kubot of Poland, pulled out before the game could get under way.

"The injury happened against Rafa in the middle of the first set when I fell down," he said.

"A few hours after the Nadal match, I start to feel so much pain, I couldn't sleep that night.

Play mediaTsonga receiving treatment

Injured Tsonga withdraws from Wimbledon

"I saw the physio and the doctor yesterday. They did a good job. It's a little bit better today. But no chance I can play."

Both Isner and Stepanek required treatment during their second-round matches but also failed to recover enough to continue.

American Isner had played just two games of his match against Adrian Mannarino of France when he was forced out with an injury to his left knee.

"I always serve and land on my left leg, like I have done 20 million times playing this game, and this is the first time I just felt this sharp pain," he said.

Stepanek soon followed, trailing one set to love and 5-3 to 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz, when he retired with a hamstring problem.

Cilic made it five withdrawals when he pulled out ahead of his second-round match with Frenchman Kenny De Schepper.

 

[humbleguy]

Wimbledon






[h=1]Federer Stakhs it at Wimbo[/h] [h=2]Roger stunned by world No 116 on Centre Court[/h]

FED EX ... Roger Federer



By MARK IRWIN

Last Updated: 27th June 2013

15







[h=3]ROGER FEDERER suffered one of the greatest shocks in Wimbledon history as he was blown off Centre Court by Ukrainian unknown Sergiy Stakhovsky.[/h] The defending champion and 16-time Grand Slam winner lost 6-7 7-6 7-5 7-6 to an opponent ranked 116th in the world and who had never previously beaten a top-10 player in his life.
Federer, 31, had reached the quarter-finals or better in his last 36 Grand Slams.
But that remarkable run was brought to a stunning end as 27-year-old Stakhovsky - an 80-1 shot to win the match - brought a crazy day at SW19 to an unbelievable end.
Federer said: "I've had many great moments here but I've also had some tough ones and you can't have it all.
"This is not the end of an era. I still have plans to play for many more years to come and I'm looking forward to coming back here next year.
"It's a tough loss and big disappointment and I certainly appreciated the standing ovation I got leaving the court.
"But when I suffer a defeat like this I have a 24-hour rule that means I don't panic, get back to work and come back stronger. I usually do turn-arounds pretty well.






Video:[h=3]SunSport aces discuss day three at Wimbledon[/h] Sport

DAN KING and Tom Barclay talk Roger Federer's shock exit - and Andy Murray's smooth progress



"People were hyping the idea of me and Rafa Nadal meeting in the quarters so it's a let-down for you media guys that we're both out but that showed a bit of disrespect to the other players.
"There was a time when the other players didn't believe they could beat the top guys.
"I'm happy some of them now believe they can beat the bigger players on the top courts."
It was only a month ago that the extrovert Stakhovsky was fined £1,250 for getting his phone out during the middle of his French Open defeat by Richard Gasquet to tweet a picture of a disputed line call.
But that is small change compared to the £63,000 he is guaranteed to pocket after toppling the greatest player in the history of the men's game.
The journeyman from Kiev admitted: "When you play Roger Federer at Wimbledon it's like playing two people.
"You're playing the guy and you're playing the legend. My only plan before the game was to hope that he didn't get too far away from me.
"It's a fantastic day and I couldn't have played any better. It's just magic.
"Now I can tell my grandkids that I kicked the butt of Roger Federer!"
Swiss Federer, with more grass court titles than any other player, simply could not come to terms with Stakhovsky's bold serve-and-volley tactics.

POWER SERG ... Sergiy Stakhovsky



Even after edging a first-set tie-break, the No 3 seed was never able to take control of an opponent who came to the net at every opportunity.
And Stakhovsky was rewarded for his bravery when he finally secured the first service break of the match deep into the third set to take a lead he never surrendered.
Federer refused to blame Wimbledon's decision to ban him from wearing his orange-soled shoes for this amazing defeat and insisted he only lost because he failed to take advantage of his opportunities.
But nothing was going to ruin Stakhovsky's big day as he said: "Roger is the greatest player and a person and one who has shown that you can be a decent man and still achieve things."

 

[humbleguy]

Wimbledon






[h=1]Murray's spoon-Fed final slot[/h]

FLUSH THE LU ... Andy Murray



By DAN KING

Published: 6 hrs ago

2







[h=3]ANDY MURRAY was gift-wrapped a route to the Wimbledon final after Roger Federer crashed out.[/h] The Swiss legend lost in four sets to unknown Urkainian Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Dangermen Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Marin Cilic also went out from Murray's hold of the draw.
And with Rafa Nadal KO'd on Monday, the No2 seed has been left with a clear path to a final with Novak Djokovic.
Brit Murray eased into the third round with a straight-sets win over Yen-Hsun Lu, then said: "It's been a strange day.
"Big names lost and there were quite a few injuries.
"Everbody was obsessed with how the draw was before the tournament started.
"Now everybody wants to change their views on it because a few guys have lost.

SWAN-TSONG ... Jo-Wilfried Tsonga



"There's top players still left in the tournament, and there's a lot of young guys."
Murray beat Lu, who hails from Chinese Taipei, 6-3 6-3 7-5.
That set up a third-round clash with Spaniard Tommy Robredo, the No32 seed.






Video:[h=3]SunSport aces discuss day three at Wimbledon[/h] Sport

DAN KING and Tom Barclay talk Roger Federer's shock exit - and Andy Murray's smooth progress



No15 seed Nicolas Almagro is now the highest-ranked rival left in the Scot's half of the draw.
At least third-seed Federer managed to play his match.

SERG OF SHOCK ... Sergiy Stakhovsky beats Roger Federer



Tsonga, the No6 seed, retired after three sets of his game with a knee injury.
And 10th seed Cilic pulled out before his second-round clash with a similar problem.
John Isner, Steve Darcis, Radek Stepanek, Victoria Azarenka and Yaroslava Shvedova also failed to start their matches through injury or were crocked on court.


Defending champ Federer then finished a crazy day by losing to Stakhovsky - who was a staggering 80-1 to win the match.
BBC commentator and SW19 legend John McEnroe called it "the all-time craziest day in the history of Wimbledon, no doubt."

RIN OUT OF TOWN ... Marin Cilic



Federer, who has won seven Wimbledon titles, said: "I've had many great moments here but I've also had some tough ones and you can't have it all.
"This is not the end of an era.
"I still have plans to play for many more years to come and I'm looking forward to coming back here again next year

 

[Yegomasika]

Mkuu BAK wacha tu tuburudishwe na Serena Williams, hao wengine waache tu waondoke. Ila kwa kweli hii ni kiboko, vigogo wote wamelamba vumbi!.

 

[humbleguy]

serena williams anaomba mechi na andy murray.........

 

[BAK]

Wimbledon 2013: The man behind Serena Williams's success

By Simon Austin BBC Sport
When Patrick Mouratoglou's dream of becoming a top tennis player was blocked by his businessman father, he vowed to scale the heights as a coach instead.
The last 12 months have seen him realise that ambition spectacularly.
Mouratoglou, 43, started working with Serena Williams last June, just days after she had suffered a humiliating defeat to Virginie Razzano, ranked 111, in the first round of the French Open.
Since then, the American has embarked on one of the most remarkable runs in the entire history of women's tennis, which Mouratoglou himself encapsulated on Facebook on 10 June.
"Anniversary of one year of collaboration with Serena," he wrote. "Three Grand Slam titles, two Olympic Gold medals (single and doubles), winner of the Masters Cup, 11 titles, back to number one in the world, oldest number one in the history of the game, 74 matches won out of 77, 31-match winning streak and still counting. Serena is just unique."
The collaboration has seen Mouratoglou, little-known outside tennis circles a year ago, become the subject of front-page stories because of speculation about a romantic relationship with Williams.
Williams' record with Mouratoglou

• Won 74 of 77 matches
• Lost only two of 28 matches v top-10 opponents
• Won Wimbledon, Olympics, US Open, Masters Cup and French Open
• Won 31 matches in a row
• Just two short of Martina Navratilova/ Chris Evert's 18 Grand Slam titles
• Regained world number one ranking and oldest number one in history of women's game (at 31)

World number two Maria Sharapova stoked the rumours with some incendiary comments at her pre-Wimbledon news conference on Saturday.
Responding to a perceived slight from Williams about her own boyfriend, Grigor Dimitrov, Sharapova said: "If she [Williams] wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids."
It wasn't difficult to work out who she was talking about. Mouratoglou and Williams have been photographed arm in arm, on holiday together, and visiting Madame Tussauds last weekend on Williams' own Twitter feed.
So far they have refused to talk about their personal relationship, a stance which Mouratoglou maintained when I spoke to him on Saturday. He did talk at length about their professional partnership though, and explained how they began to work together.
"Serena contacted me about practice at the French Open last year and came to my academy in Paris and we started to work on court a little bit," the Frenchman said in perfect English.
"It went well and she asked if I could continue working with her at Wimbledon. She won the tournament. Then she asked if I could continue working with her for the Olympics, which she won, and it went on and on like that."
He says the 31-year-old has improved several facets of her game in the last 12 months. "Firstly, I think she moves better on the court, which is so important.
"And she is more consistent, meaning her low level is now much higher than it used to be. She doesn't have to rely only on her champion's mentality to come through a match on a bad day."
Williams is also competing in more tournaments and many observers have spoken about a happier, friendlier and more motivated athlete.
One of them is former world number one Tracy Austin, who told BBC Sport: "In the past, it seemed like Serena could get bored, as it all came so easily to her. It seems Patrick has made it interesting.
"To wake up every day and feel challenged, and like you have something to improve on and get better on, is phenomenal for an athlete .
"When you have someone in your corner who is not only a great coach but also a great motivator, it's special. Serena has also spoken about the fact she'll look up now and see Patrick in her box and he'll never change his expression, which is so different from her father, who always seemed to be in a different seat and would leave in the middle of matches. Patrick seems to me to be a real stabilising force for her.
"Serena seems in a really good place right now. She's settled, hungry, fit, healthy and confident, which is not a bad combination."

Mouratoglou has reignited Williams' passion for tennis, says former world number one Tracy Austin
Mouratoglou agrees Williams has fewer "ups and downs" nowadays than she used to.
"You have to remember that tennis players are human beings," he said. "They cannot keep motivated at their best throughout the whole of their careers. But you have to say this - even when Serena was having those downs, she was still winning Grand Slam titles, which is incredible. She really is amazing.
"Serena had already won 13 Grand Slams when we started working together, but had the will to go on, to keep practicing hard, to keep looking for ways to improve. That requires a special frame of mind, the mindset of a very special champion."
People who know Mouratoglou well describe a charismatic and inspirational coach who is incredibly passionate about tennis. This probably has something to do with his own background.
He was a promising junior player who dreamt of becoming a pro, but his father Paris, founder of the renewable energy company EDF Energies Nouvelles and one of the richest men in France, demanded his son follow an academic path.
Patrick Mouratoglou factfile

• Son of Paris Mouratoglou, who moved to France from Greece at the age of 13 and went on to set up EDF Energies Nouvelles
• Promising junior player
• Set up own tennis academy at age of 26
• Players to have come through academy include Paul-Henri Mathieu, Ivo Karlovic, Marcos Baghdatis, Grigor Dimitrov and Laura Robson
• Started coaching Serena Williams in June 2012

"This created a great frustration for me and became a motivation to become a professional tennis coach," he admits. "I wanted to help players achieve what I hadn't been able to myself. And I also wanted to reach the highest possible level as a coach, the level I'd aspired to when I dreamt of being a top player."
So he studied for a degree in business, working as a tennis coach in his spare time. At the age of 26, he set up a tennis academy in Paris with financial help from his father. It was initially known as the Bob Brett Academy, after the legendary Australian coach was enrolled to give the academy kudos and pulling power.
In 2004, the Frenchman went it alone and the centre became known as the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. He describes his philosophy as "to bring every player to his or her maximum".
"Every player is different - technically, physically and mentally," he explains. "You need to be able to analyse this and treat them accordingly. The final goal is always the same, to help them become the best they can be, but the means of getting there is different for every player.
"It's the opposite of the Nick Bollettieri model, which is to take a lot of players and make them train in the same tough, regimented way; play the same type of game; and treat them the same. A few make it through to the very top and the rest fall by the wayside.
"For me, it should be completely different, with every player treated as an individual and able to reach their maximum."
Mouratoglou quickly managed to persuade some talented youngsters to join the academy - the likes of Paul-Henri Mathieu, Ivo Karlovic and Sergiy Stakhovsky - but it was Marcos Baghdatis who really put him on the map.

Williams begins her Wimbledon defence against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella in the first round on Tuesday

The Cypriot joined the academy at the age of 13 and went on to become world junior champion, a top-10 player in the seniors and an Australian Open finalist.
The next wave of recruits included Dimitrov, Aravane Rezai, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Britain's Laura Robson.
Mouratoglou speaks highly of Robson's talent and attitude, although he believes she has a lot of room for improvement. "Mostly she needs to improve her fitness and has to be able to move faster on the court," he said.
"She hits the ball great, has a huge serve and can hit winners on both sides but moving better to be in a better position most of the time would help a lot. Hard work is the key here, of course, and I'm sure Laura will do it."
His focus for the next fortnight will be Williams though. She comes in as champion, having just won her second French Open in imperious form. She even managed to charm the famously fickle Roland Garros crowd.
Where once they had reduced her to tears during a semi-final against Justine Henine-Hardenne in 2003, they now applauded as she answered questions in French after beating Sharapova in the final.
Williams, who begins her defence against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella on Tuesday, will be bidding to win a sixth Wimbledon title. And Mouratoglou has an ominous message for her rivals.
"Serena is fit and confident going into Wimbledon," he said. "I always think that preparing for a tennis tournament is like preparing for an exam, you have to feel ready. And Serena is ready."

Mkuu BAK wacha tu tuburudishwe na Serena Williams, hao wengine waache tu waondoke. Ila kwa kweli hii ni kiboko, vigogo wote wamelamba vumbi!.

 

[humbleguy]

Wimbledon






[h=1]Novak's a Wimbo survivor[/h] [h=2]Djokovic survives scare to beat qualifier on Centre[/h]

STILL GOING STRONG ... Novak Djokovic is the strong favourite for this year's Wimbledon title



By ANDREW DILLON

Last Updated: 28th June 2013









[h=3]NOVAK DJOKOVIC survived the slaughter of superstars at this year's Wimbledon.[/h] But the top seed was given a scare before beating qualifier Bobby Reynolds in straight sets.
World No 1 Djokovic took 52 minutes to take the first set from the American on a tie-break.
But he ground down his opponent, ranked 156, to win the next two in just over an hour, marching into round three with a 7-6 6-3 6-1 victory.
Djokovic is the only former men's champ left in following three days of upsets which saw Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and women's No 3 seed Maria Sharapova crash out.
The 2011 winner said: "It's a bit strange that so many top players have lost.
"The lower ranked players have extra motivation at a Grand Slam. They have nothing to lose when they play on the big stage.
"I'm not even thinking about a final against Andy Murray. That is a long way off."
Reynolds' defeat means there are no Americans in the men's third round for the first time in 101 years.
Djokovic's match was the first to be played under the Centre Court roof this year as rain halted the action outside.
The Serb, 26, added: "I needed to be extra careful with the roof closed. It is a different atmosphere. I needed time to adjust to the conditions - it was different from the first match."






Video:[h=3]SunSport aces discuss day four at Wimbledon[/h] Tennis

DAN KING and Tom Barclay talk through a win for Djokovic, Llodra's skiving... and great British weathe

 

[humbleguy]

another upset.........
kweli hii wimbledon ya mwaka huu haitabiriki......





Will I never

Serena stunned by Lisicki

FLOORED ... Serena Williams sinks to the grass against Sabine Lisicki



From TOM BARCLAY at Wimbledon

Published: 4 hrs ago

5







SERENA WILLIAMS is OUT of Wimbledon after crashing to a three-set defeat to tearful Sabine Lisicki.

The world No1, who has 18 Grand Slam titles to her name, looked a safe bet to go all the way and retain her title, such was her form.
But at an SW19 tournament which has seen shock exits including Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova already, it perhaps came as less of a surprise.
Lisicki broke the American twice to take the first set, before five-time Wimbledon champion Williams hit back in style in the second.
But the No23 seed German rallied to edge the third, winning the match 6-2 1-6 6-4 in 2hrs 4mins.

TEAR WE GO ... Sabine Lisicki shows her emotions after beating Serena Williams



Williams, 31, said: "For me, any loss is extremely tough to overcome.
"She's a great player, her ranking has no [bearing] on where she should be. She should be ranked higher.
"She has a super game to play well on grass. I feel like I had an extremely tough draw today, of all the round 16 games I probably had the toughest one. She's not a pushover."
Lisicki, who hit the deck and burst into tears after winning, said: "I am still shaking, I am so happy.
"Serena played a fantastic match, she is such a tough opponent. It is an amazing feeling to win this match.
"This is such a special place for me and the crowd were brilliant to me.
"I gave it everything I had, I fought for every single point to try to win it somehow. I'm not thinking about the next match yet

 

[BAK]

Raha yote ya kuangalia Wimbledon 2013 imepotea, Serena kaniharibia siku kweli. Baada ya kuongoza set ya tatu 3-0 nikadhani mchezo umekwisha kumbe!!!!......:angry:

 

[TCleverly]

Raha yote ya kuangalia Wimbledon 2013 imepotea, Serena kaniharibia siku kweli. Baada ya kuongoza set ya tatu 3-0 nikadhani mchezo umekwisha kumbe!!!!......:angry:

kwangu mimi afungwe yeyote katika tennis sijali ila akifungwa serena williams huwa naumia sana......

 

[BAK]

Dah!! Wewe kama mimi Mkuu, halafu mimi ni wote wawili Serena na Venus. Naboreka sana hasa wanaposhindwa katika mechi ambazo walizostahili kushindwa. Recently Venus is MIA, I hope she'll be back soon.

kwangu mimi afungwe yeyote katika tennis sijali ila akifungwa serena williams huwa naumia sana......

 

[TCleverly]

Dah!! Wewe kama mimi Mkuu, halafu mimi ni wote wawili Serena na Venus. Naboreka sana hasa wanaposhindwa katika mechi ambazo walizostahili kushindwa. Recently Venus is MIA, I hope she'll be back soon.

just imagine,serena anafungwa na huyu mjerumani hata sijui ni world namber ngapi!!!!inahuzunisha sana......kwa form yake ilitakiwa ashinde hii wimbledon tena.

 

[BAK]

Mjerumani ni mkali ni number 23rd in the World (IMO she deserves to be in top 10) halafu unajua tena hawa kina Williams wachezaji wengi wakicheza nao huwa wanawakamia sana kuwafunga. Leo Serena ile determination yake aliyoonyesha kwenye French Open na michezo yake ya mwanzoni kwenye mashindano haya haikuwepo kabisa.

just imagine,serena anafungwa na huyu mjerumani hata sijui ni world namber ngapi!!!!inahuzunisha sana......kwa form yake ilitakiwa ashinde hii wimbledon tena.

 

[humbleguy]

[h=1]Murray roars back to win five-set epic[/h] [h=2]Andy gets hairdryer help[/h]

hii leo ilikuwa great comeback from andy murray........
[h=3]ANDY MURRAY gave himself some half-time hairdryer treatment Alex Ferguson would be proud of to help him complete an amazing comeback against Fernando Verdasco.[/h] The British No1 was in real danger of exiting Wimbledon early when he crumbled to a two-set deficit as legendary Manchester United boss Fergie watched on from the Royal Box.
But a rhetorical rocket of "What the f*** are you doing!" from Muzza during the changeover worked a charm as he won 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 7-5.
The world No2 seed went off for a toilet break and came back a different player.
He raced to the third set before edging out the fourth and fifth to pull off an incredible victory over a shell-shocked Verdasco.
Murray said: "He served remarkably well. I held my nerve at the end - I didn't make the mistakes I did at the end of the second set.
"I know how good these players are. There's been a lot of matches where I've been behind and managed to turn it round.
"I don't know if it is the most emotional match, but it was an unbelievable atmosphere and great to get through."
Murray will play big-hitting Jerzy Janowicz in the semi-final, after the youngster eased to a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory in the battle of the Poles against compatriot Lukasz Kubot.
Verdasco actually struggled early on in the opening set with some loose forehands but Murray failed to take advantage.
And when the Scot laid down a double fault to hand a break at 4-4, the Spaniard capitalised to go a set up.
Murray struggled with his serve throughout the first two sets but managed to break to go 3-1 up in the second.
It looked as if he had overcome his problems but then lost FIVE games in a row to serve up the second set on a silver platter that world No54 Verdasco gratefully gobbled up.
It was truly woeful stuff from the country's top tennis player as he hit TWELVE unforced errors in that set alone.
Then came Murray's expletive rant which forced the Scot – and the embarrassingly quiet Centre Court crowd – out of their stupors.
Muzza negotiated his way through a hairy first service game to stop the rot, before going a double break up with a huge forehand to help him reduce the deficit to two sets to one.
One break in the fourth proved enough to restore parity and ensure the tie was to go the distance.

 

[humbleguy]

[h=1]Novak shoots down Berd[/h]

[h=3]NOVAK DJOKOVIC survived a second-set scare against Tomas Berdych to book his place in the Wimbledon semi-finals.[/h] The 2011 champ came through 7-6 6-4 6-3 against the Czech to set up a meeting with Juan Martin Del Potro in the last four.
Top seed Djokovic has still not dropped a single set this tournament.
But the super Serb did look in real danger in the middle set of this Court One clash when he was forced to overturn a TWO-BREAK deficit.
Djokovic said: "It was a very close match, it could have gone either way. He could have won the first two sets, he had a double break in the second.
"I don't know how I managed to go ahead, I don't know how I turned it around.
"I am really happy with the performance. I am playing some of the best tennis on grass of my career."
There was nothing between the two players in the opener as both held serve throughout to take it to a tie-break.
Djokovic edged tennis' version of a penalty shoot-out 7-5, despite slipping on the now infamous SW19 turf earlier in the set.
Giant seventh seed Berdych came out with renewed enthusiasm to race to a 3-0 lead in the second with two breaks of Djokovic's serve.

It meant the number of breaks on the world No1's serve has now doubled from two to four for the entire tournament.

But Djokovic bounced back in a way only he can as he broke Berdych THREE times to steal the set 6-4.

All the breaks rendered Berdych a broken man as the 27-year-old put up the white flag in the final set to allow Djokovic a safe passage through.

SPECIAL JUAN ... Juan Martin Del Potro falls onto the Centre Court turf after beating David Ferrer




The 26-year-old now faces a showdown with Del Potro on Friday.

And it was slip, slip, hooray for the Argentine who recovered from a fall to beat David Ferrer and progress.

Del Potro, 24, was in real trouble in the FIRST game of the match as he took a nasty tumble and for a while it looked as if his tournament was over.

But the 2009 US Open champ managed to carry on and was duly rewarded with a 6-2 6-4 7-6 victory on Centre Court.

Del Potro, who like Djokovic has yet to drop a set, said: "I was really close to pulling out because I felt a lot of pain at the beginning of the match.

"The doctor gave me some magic pills and I was able to finish the match. I think I played my best tennis.

"I played my best forehand ever in this Wimbledon. It was a big performance for me. I am so happy with my level at this moment.

"I've beaten one of the biggest players of the season. David's going to be number three in the world next Monday."

Ferrer had his own injury problems, having received treat