Andy Murray was not ready, but his time will come

AND so the post mortem begins........

FALLING SHORT: Andy Murray takes his frustration out on the net as he bows out of Wimbledon

The nation awoke on Saturday in mourning. The dream is over, the 73-year wait goes on and memories of Tiger Tim came gushing back to the forefront of our minds.

Andy Murray did not play badly against Andy Roddick, indeed the Scot, as we have come to expect over the last two weeks, produced some awe-inspiring tennis.

But he ran into A-Rod, back to his best and with his blistering serve firing on all cylinders. It is hard on Murray to bow out, losing two consecutive tie-breaks, but the Scot was not without his chances.

The British number one only converted two of seven break points, and was one point away from claiming the all-important third set, only for Roddick's 140mph serve to bail him out of trouble.

On grass, more than any other surface, a weapon like that sees its effect enhanced, and that is accentuated further in tie-breaks. It is no coincidence the two-time Wimbledon finalist has won 26 of his 30 tie-breaks this season.

But Murray has developed a reputation as the best returner of serve in the world. Surely to back that up, the Scot needed to ensure the third and fourth sets did not reach tie-breaks.

Take Roger Federer, who has now been installed as the overwhelming favourite, having beaten Roddick in the final in both 2004 and 2005 - both times not so much beating him as tearing him apart.

The five-time champion was, if you believe what you read, supposed to come under intense pressure from 6ft 10in giant Ivo Karlovic in his quarter final.

The Croat boasts a bigger serve than Roddick's and it was expected to be the Swiss ace's banana skin - but no-one told Federer. He relished the challenge and romped home in straight sets.

While Roddick, a former US Open champion, is without doubt a better player than Karlovic, Federer's approach to his last eight match tells you all you need to know about why he has 14 grand slam titles under his belt.

Federer defines champion. The last 12 months have easily been the most turbulent of a sublime career, but he responded with his sheer will to win in Paris, and is expected to dismiss Roddick on Sunday.

Murray has a way to go before he reaches that level. If the past two weeks have told us anything, it is that the Scottish scamp is very, very good, but must find an extra gear to reach greatness.

But as the nation looks for a new sporting hero to light up the summer, and with less than a week until the Ashes begin, all hopes will turn to Freddie Flintoff, let us first put Murray's Wimbledon campaign in perspective.

The 22-year-old spoke with maturity that belies his years on Friday night and the days when the toys came out of the pram are long behind us.

The Scot's progress over the last year is undeniable, and he has the strength of character to come back stronger from this set-back.

But analysis of his Wimbledon campaign suggests he is not ready to end Britain's barren spell just yet.

He was magnificent against Viktor Troicki in round three and blew former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero away in the quarter final, but he was, in all truth, expected to do so.

Faced with his first top-ten opponent in the last four, and Murray was found wanting.

He is a past master at getting inside the mind of opponents, of riling them and of making them play that extra shot in the rally - when it's going his way he can crush spirits as ruthlessly as anyone.

But he does not impose his will on others. A great deal of Federer's opponents, whether in the top ten or the top 100, are beaten before they step onto court.

The fiery Scot does not have that aura about him yet.

And perhaps his epic fourth-round match with Stanislas Wawrinka personified Murray's doomed SW19 quest.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: Murray's fourth-round clash with Stanislas Wawrinka was the highlight of his Wimbledon campaign

Let us not forget he has an enormous burden of responsibility for one so young. He shoulders it well, much better than Henman or Greg Rusedski ever did, but the drain must take its toll.

Against Wawrinka, Murray was up against it from the word go. The Swiss was inspirational, playing far above himself and thriving on his David status against Britain's potential Goliath.

Wimbledon is not Wimbledon without late-night drama and those two pushed it to new echelons, and Murray dug deep enough to take victory.

But is it the stuff of champions to win when not at your best, to grind out the victory when your talent is eluding you, or did his weaknesses against Wawrinka mark the beginning of the end?

Murray had been untouchable up until then, but Wawrinka brought him down to earth.

In overcoming the superb Swiss, Murray fell to his knees in a manner usually only associated with winning the tournament, the sheer relief was plain for all to see.

He talks a good game but that was the one moment Murray let his guard down and showed to the world that heavy lies the crown of being British at Wimbledon.

So the fallen hero will now begin his preparations for the US Open. As a former finalist Murray will fancy his chances and with a preference for hard courts, his first Grand Slam will most probably come at Flushing Meadow or the Australian Open.

As is now the norm, the nation will go into tennis hiding for all of a year. It's a feeling the British public are accustomed to and there is something so undeniably British about falling just short when it comes to sport.

I have no doubt that one day we will see Murray fall to his knees on the second Sunday of Wimbledon. But when it does happen, the nation will not know what to do with themselves.