Summary Murray restored his lead after Querrey played a sloppy tiebreak in the third set
LONDON (AFP) - Sam Querrey sent hobbling defending champion Andy Murray crashing out of Wimbledon on Wednesday, reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at the 42nd attempt.
One year after knocking out 2015 champion Novak Djokovic in the third round, 29-year-old Querrey, the world number 28, won 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-1.
World number one Murray s challenge petered out when he began limping off his right leg, his movement severely compromised by a recent hip problem.
Querrey will face either Gilles Muller of Luxembourg, who stunned Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, or former US Open champion Marin Cilic for a place in the final.
"I m still in a state of shock. I m glad I hit that last serve in," said Querrey who finished with 27 aces and 70 winners.
"I didn t start the best but I just kept swinging away and found my groove in the last two sets."
Querrey is the first American man in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 2009.
"It feels great. It s a dream come true to be in the semi-final at Wimbledon, it s very special," Querrey added.
There was no sign of the drama to come at the start of Wednesday s match.
Murray, 30, was supreme in the first set, carving out the key break for 2-0 and taking the opener on the back of just two unforced errors.
The Scot was a break to the good at 4-3 in the second before Querrey unexpectedly reeled off three straight games to level the quarter-final, firing 16 winners, twice as many as the top seed.
Murray restored his lead after Querrey played a sloppy tiebreak in the third set.
However, the champion s afternoon on Centre Court began to unravel as his movement became increasingly limited.
Limping badly off his right leg, Murray was being run ragged and was broken three times in a 22-minute fourth set.
The fifth set followed a similar plot line, lasting 27 minutes as Murray won just one point off the American s serve.
