Wimbledon Day 9 highlights: Dimitrov topples Murray

Grigor Dimitrov reached his first Grand Slam
semifinal. 2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Match of the day -- There will be no royal repeat. Third-seeded Andy Murray, who last year became the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years, fell to 11th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Murray underwent "minor" back surgery last September and hired 2006 Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo as his new coach last month on a trial basis. Dimitrov, 23, reached his first Grand Slam semifinal.
    Men's semifinal matchups -- Novak Djokovic (1), Serbia, vs. Dimitrov and Roger Federer (4), Switzerland, vs. Milos Raonic (8), Canada.
   Djokovic, the 2011 champion, topped 26th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-1, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-2. Federer, seeking a record eighth Wimbledon men's singles title, outplayed ailing countryman Stan Wawrinka, seeded fifth, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4.
   Raonic, 23, advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal and ended the run of 19-year-old wild card Nick Kyrgios of Australia 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4). Kyrgios, who saved nine match points against 13th-seeded Richard Gasquet in the second round, had less than 24 hours to prepare mentally after ousting top-ranked Rafael Nadal.   
   Women's semifinal matchups -- Simona Halep (3), Romania, vs. Eugenie Bouchard (13), Canada, and Petra Kvitova (6), Czech Republic, vs. Lucie Safarova (23), Czech Republic.
   Halep, who reached her first Grand Slam final last month in the French Open, defeated 19th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, last year's Wimbledon runner-up to Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-0.
   Bouchard, the 2012 Wimbledon girls singles champion, dispatched ninth-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4. Bouchard, 20, is the only woman to reach the semifinals at all three Grand Slam tournaments this year.
   Notable -- In women's doubles, top seeds and defending champions Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China lost to 14th-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Kristina Mladenovic of France 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the third round.
   U.S. report -- Only Bob and Mike Bryan, the top seeds and defending champions in men's doubles, and Jack Sock, unseeded with Vasek Pospisil of Canda in men's doubles, remain in men's or women's events. Seventh-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones of San Jose and Abigail Spears of San Diego lost in the round of 16 in women's doubles, and second-seeded Bob Bryan and Kveta Peschke (Czech Republic) fell in the last 16 in mixed doubles.
   Northern California connection -- The Bryans, 36-year-old twins from Stanford, advanced to the semifinals with a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4 victory over ninth-seeded Julian Knowle of Austria and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. ...
   Kops-Jones and Spears lost to 11th-seeded Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia and Anastasia Rodionova of Australia 7-5, 6-4. Rodionova, a Russia native, formerly played for the now-defunct Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis. ...
   In girls singles, 14-year-old qualifier Michaela Gordon of Los Altos Hills in the San Francisco Bay Area edged Isabelle Wallace, 17, of Great Britain 6-2, 5-7, 8-6 in the second round.
   Fast fact -- Djokovic will play in his fifth consecutive Wimbledon semifinal.
   Quote -- Murray, on his loss to Dimitrov: “He was the better player from start to finish. I started the match badly, and I think that gave him confidence."