ANDY MURRAY survived a fright under lights but his Wimbledon dream lives on – although only just.
As day turned into night, Murray just got the better of a prime-time tussle that decimated TV schedules and enthralled millions.
However, Murray will have no time for the fact he was involved in the first-ever entire match to be played under Wimb
ledon's new £80million roof. Or in the latest ever game to finish at the All England Club and the first played under floodlights.
He is still eyeing another much more prized place in history and the dream of a British winner, after a 73-year drought, lives on following this 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory over Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka.
However, he admitted he took his time to adjust to playing indoors.
"The conditions are different with the roof," he said.
"It was very heavy and humid and we were both sweating so much. When the match finished it was like I'd been in a bath.
"I struggled to serve because it wasn't coming off the strings properly. It's very different to playing without the roof."
Wawrinka is used to late night Wimbledon tussles. His match with Mario Ancic three years ago held the record as the All England Club's previous latest finish – 9.49pm – and he didn't win that one either. Murray secured his win at 10.38pm after a rollercoaster, near four hours that left his supporters frazzled and frayed and in desperate search of last orders, to toast his success and calm their nerves.
Last week Murray got a letter from the Queen, then he received a good luck call from James Bond and last night Obi Wan Kenobi, or at least actor Ewan McGregor, was in attendance.
However, the force was certainly not with him as he made a sluggish start – before rallying to impose his sheer will on Wawrinka with a performance that was hardly dominant but was certainly determined.
Murray always knew his Wimbledon would be defined by an encounter with a Swiss player – although he had Roger Federer in mind, rather than Wawrinka.
"It's great to have come through and it was a pretty special match against an opponent who was playing at the top of his game," he added. "I believe I can win Wimbledon – that hasn't changed since the first match but I'm going to need to play great tennis to do that, as I needed to against Stan.
"The standard he set was tough to keep up with and I was getting very tired towards the end. But the atmosphere when you have 15,000 supporting makes it extra special.
"I'm not dreaming about winning yet but I'm taking a lot of confidence into my next match."
After Murray's dominant wins over Ernests Gulbis and Viktor Troicki, a capacity crowd hunkered under the roof and prepared for a barrage of unstoppable winners. They were certainly not expecting to spend the evening chewing their finger nails, as Murray struggled to find his range and rhythm and was repeatedly punished by Wawrinka's thumping backhand.
The world No.19 got his early tactics spot on, forcing Murray from his comfort zone and gleefully taking advantage of every error. Being Switzerland's second best tennis player is no shame when you realise who is number one and Wawrinka has been briefly ranked in the world's top ten.
He also won the Olympic doubles gold with Federer in Beijing and has beaten Murray in three of their seven encounters – a better record than his more famous compatriot against the Scot.
Few would have predicted this would go the distance but few are fitter than Murray and maybe his conditioning and experience made a telling difference.
Both players exchanged service breaks in an understandably nervous final set, before an emotional Murray closed out the most famous win of his career yet.
He will now face former French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero in Wednesday's quarter-final, after he beat number eight seed Gilles Simon – the first wildcard to reach that stage since Goran Ivanisevic, who famously won in 2001.
Although a clay court specialist, it will be the Spaniard's third appearance in Wimbledon's last eight. The 29-year old is dubbed the Mosquito because of his speed and wiry physique; a chastened Murray better hope he doesn't get bitten.
The pair have played only once before, just a few weeks ago – and Murray won 6-2, 6-4 en route to winning the AEGON Championships at Queen's Club.
"I played very well that day but the courts here are a little different," he added.
"Ferrero is a very tough player, he plays well on any surface and he's a former world number one, so it's a very difficult match.
"If I play at my best then I've got a very good chance of winning."
