Andy Murray Ousted From Wimbledon

By ESPN

This was supposed to be the year that Andy Murray dominated men's tennis. With Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal coming off injuries and Novak Djokovic struggling for motivation, Murray was top of the pile, ready to take control. But then his body intervened.

From the shingles that he revealed after the Australian Open to a couple of bouts of flu and from the elbow injury he suffered in March to the sore hip that left him hobbling through Wimbledon, Murray has struggled with his health throughout the first half of the year.

It's probably fair to say that he has not been 100 percent fit since he won the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals this past November. Which is why, after the initial shock, Murray's quarterfinal defeat to Sam Querrey on Centre Court on Wednesday was about right and perhaps the best he could have expected.

"Before Wimbledon, it's a very short-term mindset," Murray said. "You're trying to get yourself in the best shape possible for this tournament, and I did that. I did the best that I could."

There was never going to be a retirement -- Murray is not in that mindset -- and his testimony that he was close to winning despite the discomfort is admirable. It even earned praise -- as well as concern -- from Federer, who knows all too well the worries that come from niggling injuries and, simply, trying to do too much.

"I hope by playing he didn't make things worse," Federer said after his quarterfinal win over Milos Raonic later on Wednesday. "I have a lot of respect for him doing that. I just hope that he comes out on the other side now not having to miss much later on."

It was, however, clear that the effort of trying to get himself through match after match eventually caught up with Murray. He had hoped to get through seven matches in London, but given the way the rest of the year went, it could be argued that he did pretty well to get through five, especially as he probably would not even have played if it had been a regular tour event.

The big question now is how it will affect him in the rest of the year. He says the hip injury is something he's been dealing with for much of his career, in which case it should just be a matter of rest, recuperation and some downtime with the family. In saying that he wasn't going to do himself any major damage by playing at Wimbledon, it doesn't sound as if surgery is necessary, and though he will discuss everything with his team Thursday to plan the long-term steps, Murray brushed the issue off as "wear and tear" and indicated that, moving forward, he would be able to get through it.

At 30, it's not as easy to shake these things off as it would have been 10 years ago, but every time Murray has been asked a major question in his career, he has found a way. After losing to Federer in the 2012 Wimbledon final, he came back the next year to end Great Britain's 77-year wait for a male champion. His decision to miss the ATP Tour Finals in 2013 and undergo minor back surgery was vindicated with another Wimbledon title, two Australian Open finals and a stunning rise to world No. 1 in the space of four years.

For now, that ranking is safe after Djokovic's retirement against Tomas Berdych. But with Nadal and Federer a long way ahead in the calendar year points standings, Murray knows it will go sooner rather than later. In his own words from the Wimbledon media room, he simply has not been good enough this year to keep hold of it.

However, despite his obvious disappointment, Murray already seems to be looking beyond the Wimbledon bubble in search of clarity.

"This year has obviously been frustrating at times. It's not been the easiest. But I'll want to come back and try and compete for majors," Murray said.

"I just need to do all of the right things and be even more diligent and professional than I have been recently. I feel like I've done all of the right stuff, but I'll try to do more, try to get myself in better shape. Hopefully I'll come through the other side of it a better player, a better athlete. That's what I'll try and do."

On past evidence, he will find a way.

Federer Took Time Off

One year and three days ago, Milos Raonic became the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam final when he beat an ailing Roger Federer, then 34, in five sets in the semis at Wimbledon. By the end of the match, which saw Federer call for the trainer multiple times to attend to both his right leg and his surgically repaired left knee, journalists were furiously tapping their keyboards, announcing the end of an era.

Then Federer did something even more shocking than lose to a 6-seed at All England: He took time off. After Federer beat Raonic in straight sets in the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Wednesday -- the same day that saw No. 1 seed Andy Murray lose to American giant slayer Sam Querrey and Novak Djokovic retire in the second set against Tomas Berdych, and two days after Rafael Nadal fell in a five-hour marathon to Gilles Muller -- it now seems the only era that might be ending is the one dominated by the omnipresent big four.

"Of course, I'm surprised to see them going out," Federer said after his quarterfinal win. "Novak's not missed any Slams, basically. I don't want to say sooner or later these things unfortunately happen, but he's played a lot of tennis in recent years. For him to be hurt at some stage is only normal. Andy, I hope by playing he didn't make things worse."

With Djokovic citing an elbow injury that has plagued him for more than a year and Murray struggling through hip pain, should the case be made for both players to take much-needed timeouts of their own?

"For me, it worked out," Federer said of his six-month break from competitive tennis. "Sometimes the body and the mind do need a rest. Once you hit 30, you've got to look back and think of how much tennis have I played, how much rest did I give my body over the years, how much training have I done. Did I do enough? Did I overdo it? It's always calibrating the whole thing."

Federer, of course, has had a few years of experience being 30-something. Now 35, he is the oldest player in 40 years to make the semis at Wimbledon. But all the members of the big four have hit the big 3-0: Djokovic and Murray are 30 and Nadal is 31. So one must wonder if they, too, are asking themselves (and their trainers and orthopedic surgeons) the same questions. And if time away from the game is determined to be the smartest course of action for either player to take, will he indeed choose to take it or will he continue to fight through the pain?

For Federer, his willingness to step away from the game to allow his body and mind to repair and recharge could be the difference-maker in extending his career -- more than physical therapy and more than surgery (his arthroscopic knee surgery in February 2016 was the first of his career). Entering Friday's semifinals, the 18-time Grand Slam champ is the only top-five seed remaining in the tournament, and he is six years older than Berdych, the next-oldest semifinalist.

"Last year I had a hard time practicing through the clay-court season," Federer said. "The grass-court season was difficult because of back issues. ... I was more focused on how the knee's behaving rather than how I need to hit my forehand or backhand. This year, I'm just a normal tennis player again where I can focus on tactics. I'm rested. I'm fresh. I'm confident, too."

The proof is in his results. In January, Federer won the Australian Open, the first tournament of his return, and then scored back-to-back wins at Indian Wells and Miami. He then chose to sit out the clay-court season while his peers grinded on from mid-April through June. Those months arguably took their toll on all three players, including Nadal who, while not fighting through an injury like Djokovic and Murray, undoubtedly felt the physical effects of the clay-court slog.

That's not to argue that Nadal should have joined Federer on the sidelines; he's a dirt master who won three tournaments, including the French Open, in Federer's absence during those two months. It's only to say Nadal might consider a rest sometime in the future. Like Murray and Djokovic, Nadal is gone from this tournament, while Federer has yet to drop a set.

"That was the idea [of the break], that the second week of Wimbledon I would feel my best," Federer said. "And I think it's coming along nicely, to be honest."