The mind was willing, but the body was not. Top seed Andy Murray dropped his Wimbledon crown on Wednesday after struggling with hip issues in the latter stages of his quarter-final loss against Sam Querrey, but made every effort to not blame the injury for his defeat.

Instead, he was full of praise for the aggressive play from the American. Murray said that Querrey’s game is tailor made for grass, but that he’s also made adjustments to utilise his strengths even further on the surface.

“I think he’s played well this tournament. He’s looking to be aggressive. With the strengths and power that he has, it gives him the best chance to do well in these events,” said Murray. “When he’s serving well – I think going into the match he was averaging 25 aces a match – it maybe allows him to be a little bit freer in the rest of his game and go for his shots.

“He’s coming forward a bit more than he used to in the past. He’s certainly competent at the net and makes his volleys. He’s a big guy up there,” he added. “That’s the main difference I saw in his game.”

But despite Querrey’s excellent tennis, it was also clear that Murray was having hip troubles in the final two sets. Even though Murray still put up impressive stats through his four victories this fortnight and came within a set of the semi-finals, he hinted that he struggled physically throughout the tournament.

However, Murray said once he knew playing through the pain wouldn’t affect his plans for the American hard-court season, he wanted to do everything possible to defend his Wimbledon crown.

“I knew I wasn’t going to do any major damage by playing. We were looking at short-term solutions because you want to play Wimbledon. You want to play all of the Slams and give your best effort there,” said Murray. “I managed to get through a bunch of matches and did okay. Now I’ll sit down with my team and look a bit longer term, come up with a plan for what I have to do next.

“I’ve been a little bit sore the whole tournament, but I tried my best right to the end. I’m proud about that,” said Murray. “It’s disappointing to lose at Wimbledon. There’s obviously an opportunity there, so I’m sad that it’s over.” 

More: Cilic Reaches First Wimbledon SF

The hip injury isn’t new for Murray, but he had been taking two ice baths per day in recent weeks to combat the stiffness. The Brit received treatment for a hip injury during Wimbledon in 2015 and he admitted the issue has been ongoing.

“I’ve been dealing with it for a very long time during my career. Obviously as you get older, things are a little bit tougher to manage than they are when you’re younger. There’s a bit more wear and tear there,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll be able to get through it moving forward. I just need to do all of the right things and be even more diligent and professional than I have been recently.”

Murray will turn his attention to rest and recovery, but said one thing he won’t be focusing on is potentially losing his top spot in the Emirates ATP Rankings. He would have remained No. 1 with a win over Querrey, but Novak Djokovic can reclaim that position if he takes the title this week.

With a mountain of points to defend in the second half of the season and a disappointing 2017 so far by his lofty standards, the Brit somewhat surprisingly said it was a question of when, not if, he would lose the No. 1 ranking. 

“I haven’t played well enough this year to deserve to stay there for much longer. If it doesn’t happen by the end of this tournament, it will happen by the end of the US Open,” he said. “That’s fine. Obviously, I would rather be ranked No. 1 than No. 2, 3 or 4. [If I lose it], I’ll try and find a way to get back there. Hopefully I can do that.”

(3) Roger Federer v (6) Milos Raonic

Perhaps the most intriguing match of the day pits third seed Federer against sixth seed Raonic in a rematch of their 2016 Wimbledon semi-final, which saw the Canadian prevail in five sets. Federer leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 9-3 and the pair have split their two Wimbledon matches, with Federer scoring a straight-sets win in the 2014 semi-finals.

Federer, contesting his 100^th match at Wimbledon, has sailed into the last eight without losing a set. Meanwhile, Raonic nearly went two sets down in his second-round match with Mikhail Youzhny and survived a marathon five-setter with 10^th seed Alexander Zverev. The Canadian hasn’t defeated a player inside the Top 5 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since his win over Federer last year, but is finally healthy after his right leg struggles throughout much of 2017 and playing his best tennis.

Should the Swiss maestro prevail, he would take over Jimmy Connors for the most Wimbledon semi-final appearances in the Open Era, with 12 in total.

(1) Andy Murray v (24) Sam Querrey

The top seed and defending champion carries a 25-match win streak against Americans into his quarter-final showdown with Querrey. He leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head 7-1 and has won their past three matches. Murray also defeated Querrey in their lone match on grass at Wimbledon in 2010.

After surviving an epic third-round clash with 28^th seed Fabio Fognini, Murray appears to have found a new level in his game. His consistency is back in full swing, with the Brit hitting just seven errors in his straight-sets win over Benoit Paire to reach the last eight.

If Murray wins, he will remain as World No. 1 when the newest standings are released on Monday. He’ll drop to No. 2 if he loses to Querrey and Djokovic takes the title. 

Querrey has already scored a win over a World No. 1 at Wimbledon with his victory last year over Novak Djokovic and is eager for a repeat this fortnight. Buoyed by his serve and forehand, the American has shown impressive mental resilience in surviving back-to-back five-set matches over 12^th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kevin Anderson to reach the quarter-finals. But should this match run long, fitness may come into play since Querrey has logged far more time on court than Murray.

If the American prevails, he’ll top the list for most attempts before reaching a maiden Grand Slam semi-final (42).

(2) Novak Djokovic v (11) Tomas Berdych

Although Djokovic leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Berdych 25-2 and has won their past 12 matches, the Czech player beat Djokovic in the 2010 Wimbledon semi-finals. Berdych has always found a way to raise his game on the lawns of the All England Club and has looked sharp this fortnight, particularly in his five-set win over eighth seed Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.

Djokovic has continued to build on his title win at the Aegon International (d. Monfils), racing into the quarter-finals without losing a set. With 1992 Wimbledon champion Andre Agassi imparting grass-court wisdom into his ear, the Serbian is displaying the level of tennis that has brought him three titles here.

If the second seed prevails on Wednesday, he’ll surpass Jimmy Connors at second on the all-time list for most Grand Slam semi-final appearances with 32.

(7) Marin Cilic v (16) Gilles Muller 

Cilic and Muller faced off last month on grass in the semi-finals of the Aegon Championships, with the Croatian prevailing in three sets. They’ve both racked up the most grass-court match wins at tour-level of any player this season, with Muller going 11-1 and Cilic posting a 10-2 record.

Cilic has been dominant with his serve all tournament long, hammering 70 aces as he raced into the quarter-finals without losing a set. Using that shot to set up his potent forehand, he’s continued to apply pressure on his opponents that allow him multiple opportunities to break.

Muller will be riding high after his epic five-set win over Nadal on Monday. His big lefty serve and penchant for serve-and-volley tennis is tailor made for grass, as evidenced by him prevailing last month at the Ricoh Open (d. Karlovic). He’s playing the best tennis of his career at age 34, sitting at a career-high No. 26 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. But after an emotionally charged win over Nadal that took nearly five hours, it remains to be seen how much Muller will have left in the tank if this match also runs long.

Sixteenth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are the first team to reach the doubles semi-finals at Wimbledon, doing so with an emphatic 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 win on Tuesday over Marcin Matkowski and Max Mirnyi.

Marach’s only other Grand Slam semi-final came at the 2009 Australian Open (w/Kubot), while Pavic has never reached the last four at a major. They’ll take on Hans Podlipnik-Castillo and Andrei Vasilevski or Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor in the next round. That quarter-final was suspended due to rain on Tuesday, with Podlipnik-Castillo/Vasilevski serving at 7-6(8), 4-6, 1-1.

Top seeds Henri Kontinen and John Peers also had their quarter-final suspended against tenth seeds and Roland Garros champions Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus. Kontinen/Peers lead 6-4, 6-7(5), 4-3.

The lone third-round match to be completed saw British brothers Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski delight the home crowd with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-4 victory against Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner. Next up for the Skupskis are fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo.