Wimbledon 2014: Andy Murray backed to return strongly by Tim Henman

The defending champion lost in straight sets to Grigor Dimitrov

Andy Murray pictured during his defeat to Gregor Dimitrov (GETTY IMAGES)

Tim Henman expects Andy Murray to come back strongly after his Wimbledon defence was ended by Grigor Dimitrov.

But former British number one and four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman is also tipping Bulgarian rising star Dimitrov to be a fixture at the top of the game for years to come.

A straight-sets defeat on Centre Court was an anticlimactic way for Murray's Wimbledon to grind to a halt, as he bowed out in the quarter-finals, beaten 6-1 7-6 (7/4) 6-2.

Dimitrov was tactically dominant and dictated play, with Henman confident Murray will be looking at where his own game fell short.

"He was obviously trying to find different solutions to the conundrums out there but he wasn't able to do it," Henman said on BBC One.

"It will be a match he will reflect on in the coming days and weeks and he'll learn from it and I'm sure he's got many more opportunities here in the future."

Henman added: "I think with Andy's performance in his first four matches his serving had been first class and today he struggled.

"Every time he did miss the first serve I think he only won three out of 10 on the second serve.

"There's two sides to this coin: Dimitrov played fantastically well, he dominated from the word go, he won the first set 6-1 in 25 minutes and the second-set tie-break was crucial.

"At 4-4 he played three great points in a row and went up two sets to love.

"Andy will be very honest I'm sure and he didn't play his best today.

"Andy didn't play very well and his opponent took full advantage and congratulations to Dimitrov because he is another future star - he's a present star now but he's one of these young, up-and-coming players who's going to be around for a very, very long time."

Andy Murray pictured during his defeat to Gregor Dimitrov (GETTY IMAGES)

Two-time former Wimbledon champion Jimmy Connors was excited to see Dimitrov in such rich form as he demonstrated, but felt Murray gave him the opportunity to build momentum.

"I thought at the beginning he looked a little flat, but all credit to Dimitrov, the way he played," American Connors said.

"He was eager, he was on top of his game and he was in full flight in my opinion.

"It's been interesting the last couple of days to see the young guys come out: they expect to win and they're playing the type of tennis that allows them to go forward, and to start making their name here on this Centre Court at Wimbledon, and it's been fun to watch."

PA