The two-time champion Murray lost in four sets as he was surprised by the American John Isner who had a great service in Center Court. Isner won his clash 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4, assisted by 36 aces. It was the first time that Murray failed to reach the third round in SW19 as the American player with a height of 6 feet and 10 feet secured his first victory in his career against him in the ninth attempt. The British fans had suffered double disappointment in a quick succession after Raducanu had been defeated earlier in the same stadium in the women’s singles. The 19-year-old US Open champion, whose preparations for Wimbledon were severely disrupted by side pressure, was defeated by France’s Caroline Garcia, who won in a straight set 6-3 6-3. But there was better news for Britain’s No. 1 Cameron Norrie after the ninth seed finished third in the third round with a 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-0 6-2 victory over Spain’s Jaume Munar. Murray, 6 feet 3 inches, currently in 52nd place in the world, had threatened another of his epic comebacks late at night from two sets down when he won a third set of tie breaks. But this time he could not dive into this seemingly endless well of stocks, as the world number 24 clung to victory. The 35-year-old Scot managed to gain just 15 points against the relentless first serve Isner. However, the triumph of the 20th seed had much more, with a number of careful drop shots and skillful touches to the net, surprising Center Court. Image: Murray lost to John Isner at Center Court. Photo: AP The roof closed late in the fourth set due to bad light with 37-year-old Isner leading 4-2. The British preparations for this year’s Wimbledon were not ideal since a fortnight ago he underwent a tummy tuck. And the former world number one had faced a struggle with time to recover from injury. Murray was left to say what it could be, saying: “I could have had a good run here. One of the reasons you improve your ranking and try to get to the seed is important (is) to avoid playing top. players and dangerous guys like this early in the tournaments. “It is one of those matches that, if I had won, who knows what would have happened.” Picture: Cameron Norrie passes to the third round After her defeat, the 10th in a row Raducanu said: “I have played seven hours of tennis in a month. To compete with even these girls at this level and win a round I think is a very good achievement. “Obviously it’s hard to lose any game, but I think Caroline played a great game. She’s a great player. I tried to find a way to get over it today. “But it’s okay because, getting into it, I didn’t really have a lot of expectations of myself. Playing on the pitch again was a really positive experience for me.” Meanwhile, after a great summer on the grass, Britain’s Ryan Peniston lost to American Steve Johnson who triumphed in the second round 6-3 6-2 6-4. But Harriet Dart won the late first-round match – becoming the 10th Brit to advance to the second round – the best start to the Championship for home players since 1984. On Thursday, Dart will play in eighth place, American Jessica Pegula, while Britain’s Katie Boulter will play in sixth place, Czech Karolina Pliskova at Center Court in the second round clash. Picture: Harriet Dart won the late race of the first round Heather Watson continues her fight in the second round against Kiang Wang, with the British leading 7-5 5-4. Among the British men in the second round of action, Jack Draper will face 19th place Alex De Minaur from Australia, while Liam Brody will face 12th Argentine Diego Schwartzman and Alastair Gray with 11th American Taylor.
