The two biggest stars of British tennis, Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu, were eliminated from Wimbledon in the second round.
Two-time champion Murray lost in four sets after being defeated by the great American John Isner on the center court.
Isner won their clash with 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-4, assisted by 36 aces.
It was the first time Murray had failed to reach the third round of the SW19, as the 6-foot-10 American secured his first career victory over him in the ninth attempt.
British fans suffered a double disappointment in a quick sequence after Raducanu was knocked out on the same women’s singles court.
The 19-year-old US Open champion, whose preparation for Wimbledon was severely disrupted by side tensions, was defeated by Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia, who won 6-3 6-3 in consecutive sets.
But there was better news for British number one Cameron Nori after the ninth placed in the scheme secured a place in the third round with a 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-0 6-2 victory over Spaniard Haume Munar.
6ft 3in Murray, currently ranked 52nd in the world, had threatened another of his epic returns late at night from two sets down when he won a third set tie-break.
But this time he failed to dive into this seemingly endless well of reserves, as world number 24 clung to victory.
The 35-year-old Scot managed to score only 15 points against the ruthless Isner’s first serve.
But the triumph of the 20th placed in the scheme had much more, with many neat strokes and deft touches in the net, leaving the Center on the court stunned.
Image: Murray loses to John Isner on the center court. Photo: AP
The roof was closed late in the fourth set due to poor light, with 37-year-old Isner leading 4-2.
The preparation of the Briton for this year’s Wimbledon was not perfect, after he received abdominal tension two weeks ago.
And the former number one in the world has faced a race against time to recover from the injury.
Murray was left to regret what might have happened, saying, “I could have made a good move here. One of the reasons why improving your rankings and placement attempts is important is to (a) avoid playing top players and dangerous guys like this at the beginning of tournaments.
“This is one of those matches that, if I had succeeded, who knows what would have happened.
Image: Cameron Nori moves on to the third round
After his defeat, the 10th placed Radukanu said: “I played seven hours of tennis in one month. Even if I compete with these girls at this level and win a round, I think it’s a pretty good achievement.
“Obviously it’s hard to lose every game, but I think Caroline played a great game. She is a great player. I struggled to find my way through it today.
“But it’s all right, because going into that, I didn’t really have much of an expectation for myself. Playing on the center court again was a really positive experience for me.”
Meanwhile, after a great summer on the grass, Britain’s Ryan Penniston lost to American Steve Johnson, who triumphed in the second round 6-3 6-2 6-4.
But Harriet Darth won her postponed first-round match – becoming the 10th Briton to advance to the second round – the best start to the home championship since 1984.
On Thursday, Darth will play eighth-placed American Jessica Pegula, while Britain’s Katie Boulter will play sixth-placed Czech Karolina Pliskova on the Central Court in her second-round clash.
Image: Harriet Darth won her postponed first round match
Heather Watson resumed her second round match against China’s Qiang Wang, with the UK leading 7-5 5-4.
Among the Britons in the second round, Jack Draper will face 19th-placed Alex De Minaur of Australia, while Liam Brody will face 12th-placed Argentine Diego Schwartzman, and Alistair Gray will face 11th-placed American Taylor Fritz.
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