Murray beaten in mixed doubles semi

Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber In the wake of Andy Murray's defeat in the men's singles, his elder brother Jamie exited the mixed doubles tournament at the semi-final stage as he and partner Liezel Huber lost in straight sets to 9th seeds Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 6-2, 7-5. Both ladies lost their serves in the opening set, which meant the match was level-pegging. The subsequent loss of both Murray’s and Huber’s service games left Groenefeld serving for the first set 5-2. It was all looking rather easy for the Bahamas/Germany pairing. They bagged the set with an instinctive net response by Knowles which looped to the baseline before Huber could race back to retrieve. The second set was more of a battle, though Murray continued to make heavy weather of his service. Knowles became increasingly predatory at the net, working another break point after a rat-a-tat volley. The unseeded pair had a chance on the Groenefeld serve, but supreme defending by the ninth seeds kept the pretenders at bay. Murray and Huber drew level at 4-4 with a strong game, and this might have been a turning point in the match for them. But it wasn’t. A searing, splitting service return down the centre line gave the seeds the opportunity to serve out the match. It took a couple of games more, but the result was never really in question. In the other semi-final, it was formbook all the way as top seeds Leander Paes of India and Cara Black of Zimbabwe saw off the competition from 12th seeds Stephen Huss and Virginia Ruano Pascual in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. The first set went entirely as expected with the dominant Paes and Black needing just 35 minutes to wrap it up. The second set took just one minute longer in a match that was played with friendly humour not detracting from the competitive nature one iota. Australian Huss and Spaniard Ruano Pascual have been showing exceptional form here, having knocked out the 4th seeds in the last round. But they weren’t able to make further progress. A break in the seventh game of the second set gave their opponents an unassailably strong position. Paes was aggressive and quick, all over the net, poaching anything that moved, whilst Black mopped up the long shots. Huss served well at 3-5 to keep the 12th seeds in the match, the pair taking their time and making good shots, despite the best lobbing and angular efforts of the favourites. But Paes was not to be so generous on his own service game; not even a neat reflexive pick-up by Huss off his ankles into space was enough. The No.1 seeds earned two match points, and Paes took the first with an ace down the line.

Walkover gives Murray mixed semi spot

Jamie Murray Britain's Jamie Murray is two matches away from another Wimbledon title - two years on from his famous win alongside Jelena Jankovic - after he and mixed doubles partner Liezel Huber had a walkover into the mixed doubles semi-finals. The pairing's prospective opponents, 15th seeds Lukas Dlouhy and Iveta Benesova, both from the Czech Republic, withdrew prior to their quarter-final. But there was plenty of other quarter-final action. Top seeds Leander Paes of India and Zimbabwean Cara Black made short work of their quarter-final against 11th seeds Andre Sa of Brazil and Japan’s Ai Sugiyama, winning in just over an hour, 6-3, 6-3. Paes and Black started with an immediate break to build an early lead. They came under severe pressure in a long eighth game, but hung on to their serve. Then, with Sa serving at 3-5, some fierce returning gave the No.1 seeds the advantage and the set. Paes who opened service at the beginning of the second set and the pair never looked like losing their momentum. The 2nd seeds, and defending champions, Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur were not so successful. In a tough contest, it was the 9th seeds Mark Knowles of the Bahamas and German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who won in three sets, 0-6, 7-5, 6-3. The first set was over in the blink of a tennis eye, in 19 minutes, as the 2nd seeds refused to let the 9th seeds take a game. But 37-year-old Knowles and 24-year-old Groenefeld were not to be pushed over so easily. The second set was full of closely-fought points, fine angles, and the odd ferocious volley. This time, the 9th seeds forced a deciding set. And they pushed home their advantage, as Bryan and Stosur faded just a little. The reigning champions were unable to dig deep enough to pull out the win. Stosur served a safe game at 2-5 to keep the pair’s hopes alive, despite a fierce tight angled cross court winner from wide of the baseline by Knowles. It was Knowles who could then serve out at 5-3. He and Groenefeld raced to three match points, of which they needed only the first. The 4th seeds were also defeated by lower ranked opposition in a gritty match lasting 2 hours, 13 minutes. Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe and Su-Wei Hsieh of Chinese Taipei were put out by 12th seeds, Australian Stephen Huss and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain, in three sets, 6-3, 5-7, 9-7. After consistent play in the opening set by both pairs, with plenty of elegant, angular tennis, it was a break in the 8th game that gave Huss the pleasure of serving for the first set. The 12th seeds needed only one of the two set points they had carefully engineered. The 4th seeds came out fighting in the second set, making an early break. But the Aussie/Spanish pair broke back after fast-running net play by the men, and a long return by Su-Wei Hsieh which Huss shouted at Virginia Ruano Pascual to leave. The match was levelled at 4-4, but come the end, the 4th seeds need only one break point to take the set. The final set was filled with powerful ground strokes and delicately-angled volleys. And it wasn’t until the 15th game that Huss and Ruano Pascual broke serve, leaving the Spaniard to serve for the match. They worked up two match points thanks to some sterling net smashes by Huss. Another net poach by Huss with an acute angle gave the pair a place in the semi-final.

Unseeded Murray/Huber reach quarter-finals

Jamie Murray Jamie Murray and Liezel Huber became the only unseeded pair to make it through to the quarter-finals of the mixed event this afternoon with a thrilling three-set victory over sixth-seeded Mike Bryan and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The pair eked out a 7-6 (9-7), 4-6, 6-3 victory in front of a partisan crowd. Mum Judy, who had opted to watch the mixed tussle over Andy’s Centre Court clash with Juan Carlos Ferrero, gave her vocal cords a workout and screeched "so good" at the top of her voice every time her son fired off a winner. Elsewhere, fourth-seeded Kevin Ullyett and Su-Wei Hsieh had an easier time. The pair eased past Christopher Kas and Chia-Jung Chuang with a 6-3, 6-2 scoreline, hitting two aces and making only eight unforced errors, compared with their opponents’ seven double faults and 19 unforced errors. Daniel Nestor and Elena Vesnina were not as fortunate as they played late into the evening on Court 3. The fifth seeds were dumped out of The Championships by Mark Knowles and Anna-Lena Groenefeld – seeded ninth – 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and seven minutes.