DISBELIEF

A growing sense of disbelief settled over Centre Court and outside on the sun-baked hill, where thousands had assembled to watch on the huge screen, as Murray's imperious charge towards a second consecutive title came off the rails.

Murray had looked impeccable in reaching the quarter-finals without dropping a set but found himself a set down and in deep trouble after only 25 minutes against 23-year-old Dimitrov.

Such was the quality of the 11th seed's tennis that Murray could have been excused for thinking it was Federer in his prime on the other side of the net.

Comparisons with the Swiss maestro appear to have weighed heavily on Dimitrov since he won the junior title here, but with coach Roger Rasheed and girlfriend Maria Sharapova now in his corner, the Bulgarian looks ready to jump the queue of those waiting to get their hands on some major silverware.

"Dimitrov is in a semi-final and he will say, why can't I beat Federer or Djokovic and win the title?" former champion Jimmy Connors, who was commentating for the BBC, said of the player who won the Queen's Club grasscourt title last month.

"He played spectacular tennis today. It won't get easier, so he has to lift his level again. I don't think he is just satisfied with being in the semi-final."

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge stands on Centre Court after the men's singles quarter-final tennis match between Roger Federer of Switzerland and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 2, 2014.  [Photo/Agencies]

TORRID START

The crowd did their best to lift Murray after his torrid start, but he was clearly having a very bad day at the office. Any hopes for a repeat of his comeback from a two-set deficit at the same stage last year against Fernando Verdasco evaporated in the third set as he was clinically picked apart by Dimitrov.

"As soon as we started warming up I sensed his game was not at the highest level and I was feeling good," said the Bulgarian after ending Olympic champion Murray's 17-match winning streak at the home of lawn tennis. "I held my ground through and the (second set) tiebreak was crucial."

While Dimitrov will contest his first grand slam semi-final, Bouchard will be appearing in her third this year, determined to go at least one better than she did at the Australian and French Opens.

"Yeah, I'm excited to be in the semis," she told reporters. "But never satisfied. I definitely want to go a step further."