During his 2010 Wimbledon semi-final clash with Rafael Nadal, a 23-year-old Andy Murray suffered a routine defeat in straight sets.

With that in mind, it would have been fair to assume that the last player the Scot wanted to face at the same stage of the competition 12 months later was the Spaniard, but the draw had other ideas.

It was four years ago today that the players headed out in front of a packed and expectant Centre Court crowd, many of whom were eager for Murray to end Britain's wait for home representation in the final of the men's game.

After all, not since Bunny Austin in 1938 had a Brit advanced as far as the showpiece match, with Fred Perry the last to win it two years earlier than that.

The omens were certainly not good, though, because Murray had won just four of his 15 previous meetings with Nadal, who was bidding for a third Wimbledon title.

However, when the left-hander sent the ball crashing into the net to hand Murray the first set, it seemed that there was only going to be one winner.

The momentum was well and truly with Murray, but that all changed when he was leading 2-1, 15-30 on the Nadal serve in the second set. The home favourite had the most simple of forehands to bring up two break points, but his shot from the middle of the court was long. Nadal went on to hold that game, while a downbeat Murray folded.

A double fault from Murray handed Nadal a break in the next game and from that moment onwards the world number one coasted to victory, eventually winning through 5-7 6-2 6-2 6-4.

Speaking after the match, Nadal told BBC Sport: "He played fantastic at the beginning but he had an important mistake at the beginning of the second set, at 15-30 an easy forehand he played long, and probably that was one of the turning points of the match.

"For me it is really a dream to be back in the final for another time. I'm very happy for everything but seriously, I feel sad for Andy, he deserves to be in this final."

Meanwhile, Murray, who had lost his third Wimbledon semi-final in a row, added: "Sometimes, I've come off the court and thought maybe I should have taken a few more chances but this time it was the other way. I went for it and started making mistakes. It was good for a set and a little bit, then went the other way."

In the final, Nadal was stunned by Novak Djokovic as the Serb secured his first title at SW19 courtesy of a 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 triumph.