Leading article: Volley of despair

Tennis can be a cruel sport. Andy Roddick's wicked serve has blown away the nation's dreams of seeing a Briton in the men's final of Wimbledon for the first time in seven decades.

But, in fairness, we ought to recognise that it was not only Roddick's serve which was the difference between the two players yesterday. The American's game was formidable in many areas. And Murray, despite the vociferous support of the Centre Court crowd, was not at his best.

Disappointing as the result is, it was fair. And we should not be too crushed by the collapse of the Murray Mound of expectation. The young Scot has given us two weeks of marvellous entertainment. And this is hardly the end of the road. Murray has been getting steadily further in the All England Championship with each passing year. And he is also still only 22 years old. There is still an awful lot of tennis to come from this young player. Don't desert the Murray Mound yet.