Andy Murray’s reign as Wimbledon champion came to a stunning end as Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov clinched a 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory over the world No.5 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Murray had hoped to become the first British man to successfully defend the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936, but the Scot was completely out-classed in a two-hour masterclass from 11th seed Dimitrov on Centre Court.

The 27-year-old’s unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semi-final at the grasscourt grand slam.

“I’m very disappointed with the way I started. I felt that gave him confidence at the beginning,” Murray said.

“I felt fine in the warm-up but got off to a bad start. It’s a lot easier for him to settle down when he’s two sets up.

“He played a very solid match, making few mistakes and a lot of returns. I just wish I’d made it tougher for him. It wasn’t a great day.”

Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia’s Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final.

“I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It’s never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate,” 11th-seeded Dimitrov said.

“I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis.

“The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control.”

Only once before had Murray lost a Wimbledon quarter-final – against Rafael Nadal in 2008 – and this was his first defeat against a player ranked outside the top 10 at a grand slam since 2010.

After years of struggling to live up to the vast potential that has earned him numerous comparisons with Roger Federer, this was a thrilling performance from 23-year-old Dimitrov, who finally secured his first win over a top-10 player at a grand slam at the fifth attempt.

The world No.13 was playing in his first All England Club quarter-final, but he is a former junior Wimbledon champion and had underlined his grasscourt pedigree by winning the Queen’s Club title last month.