Andy Murray survived an almighty scare as he fought back from two sets down to beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The second seed stayed on course for a possible blockbuster final against world No.1 Novak Djokovic, but not before having British hearts in mouths for much of a dramatic quarter-final on Centre Court.
With fellow Scot Sir Alex Ferguson watching on, Murray delivered the sort of comeback Manchester United would be proud of as he composed himself to grind out a 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-4 7-5 victory in three hours and 27 minutes.
“I came through an incredibly tough match. It could have gone the other way. I found a way to get through and that’s all you need,” said Murray, who kept up home hopes of a first British champion since 1936.
“Towards the end it was an unbelievable atmosphere and it’s great to get through that one and now I can rest up for the semi-finals.”
Murray will next face 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz, who defeated compatriot Lukasz Kubot 7-5 6-4 6-4 to become Poland’s first male grand slam semi-finalist.
Djokovic will meet Argentine eighth seed Juan Martin del Potro after both wrapped up quarter-final wins within 10 seconds of each other earlier on Wednesday.
Djokovic reached his 13th consecutive grand slam semi-final with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-3 win over Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych, who had beaten Australian Bernard Tomic to reach the last eight.
Djokovic will go into the semis not having dropped a set in the tournament while holding an 8-3 winning stranglehold against Del Potro.
“I have a great respect for him. He’s a grand slam winner,” Serb Djokovic said of the 2009 US Open champion.
Del Potro played through the pain barrier to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final with a 6-2 6-4 7-6 (7-5) win over Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer.
The Argentine said he thought about quitting after suffering a horror fall in the first game.
He was in tears after his already-injured left knee bent awkwardly but he gritted his teeth through two hours and 16 minutes of play and was confident he would recover in time for Friday’s showdown with Djokovic.
“I will need to be 100 per cent or 110 per cent against him,” Del Potro said.
The drama was nothing compared to what followed on Centre Court.
Verdasco, ranked 54th, played well at the key moments in the opening two sets to open up an unlikely lead and have the home crowd in shock.
But, after giving himself a stern talking to, Murray steadied himself and wrested back the momentum in easily claiming the third set.
In the fourth set, he fought off two break points in the sixth game to level at 3-3 and broke the next game.
Murray sent the game into a deciding set and neither player gave an inch until Murray broke when Verdasco shot long, giving the Scot a 6-5 lead.
Murray sent down an ace to give himself three match points and won it when Verdasco hit long again.
Earlier, Janowicz exchanged his shirt with Davis Cup teammate Kubot and broke down in tears after his win.
“I’m just really happy. I didn’t expect I can go that far in a grand slam here at Wimbledon,” said Janowicz, who will break into the top 20 in the rankings for the first time.
“Really I have not many words to say right now.”
