One of the most eagerly-awaited tournaments in Rugby World Cup history will unfold in France during September and October.
It takes place across nine host cities – Paris, Toulouse, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nice, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Nantes and Lille – with more than 2.5 million tickets sold.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main talking points ahead of the competition.
A wide-open tournament?
Only four countries – New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England – have won the World Cup during its nine previous stagings. The All Blacks and Springboks are once again expected to feature prominently, but Ireland and France can be confidently added to that mix. Six Nations champions Ireland, under the coaching direction of Andy Farrell, surged to top spot in rugby union’s world rankings, while Les Bleus’ thrilling playing style and power game are an irresistible combination. A lop-sided draw – it was carried out in December 2020 – has all the heavy-hitters in its top half, which could assist teams like the Wallabies and Wales merely adding to the intrigue.
England up against it
It is 20 years since England conquered the rugby world – a success built from an imposing platform provided by players like Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Jason Robinson and Richard Hill. Two more finals followed in 2007 and 2019 – England lost both – and they will arrive in France following a difficult build-up. New head coach Steve Borthwick, appointed earlier this year, oversaw an underwhelming Six Nations campaign, while key players Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola are suspended for opening World Cup pool action after being sent off during warm-up games. There is little to suggest that England will be title contenders.
Discipline in the spotlight
The widespread hope is that France 2023 will be remembered above anything else for the quality of rugby on show – but it is not guaranteed. High tackles, red cards, yellow cards and disciplinary hearings are an inevitability, while spectators are becoming accustomed with the foul play review bunker, where a second television match official can decide – on referral from the referee – if a yellow card should become red. Coaches will want consistency, too, on punishments handed out by disciplinary chiefs – England captain Farrell’s recent case highlighting that need – and all matters being efficiently and promptly dealt with.
Warren Gatland back for more
Gatland could not have imagined a year ago that he would be back as Wales head coach and preparing for a fourth World Cup. His original 11-year stint in the job ended after the last tournament in Japan, but the Welsh Rugby Union turned to him following Wayne Pivac’s departure after a miserable 2022 when Wales lost nine Tests, including demoralising home defeats against Italy and Georgia. Gatland’s World Cup record with Wales is impressive – two semi-final appearances and one quarter-final – while he relishes an underdog status that regularly accompanies his players. A 33-1 shot, Wales might not be expected to feature at the tournament’s business-end, but Gatland will have other ideas.
Magnifique! France to triumph
Since the first World Cup in 1987, France have won 11 Five and Six Nations titles, including five Grand Slams, yet the biggest prize of all has eluded them. World Cup finalists 36 years ago, then again in 1999 and 2011, they finished as runner-up each time. But if Les Bleus can cope with host nation expectation and pressure, something they failed to do when France last staged the tournament in 2007, then this could be their time. They have the players – Antoine Dupont, Gregory Alldritt, Damian Penaud, Gael Fickou and Charles Ollivon, to name just five – and coaching team to thrive. If France beat New Zealand in game one, then their momentum could prove unstoppable.
Former coach Eddie Jones has pointed the finger at the Rugby Football Union for England’s current crisis.
England’s troubled World Cup preparations hit a new low when they lost to Fiji last weekend, which was the fifth defeat in their last six matches.
They have subsequently slipped to their lowest ranking in 20 years and expectations of a promising campaign in France over the next two months are low.
It is a rapid decline from the last World Cup in 2019, where Jones took them to the final. And he believes while current coach Steve Borthwick is coming under pressure, the governing body is responsible for failing to produce the next generation of talent.
“It’s a difficult situation, like you’ve got an ageing team,” Jones, who left his position with the RFU in 2022 and will lead his home country Australia into the tournament, told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
“Anyone who knows anything about sport can see that and then you’ve got new players coming in. Some of them have come through and done really well, like a Freddy Stewart, others are still finding their feet, like a Marcus Smith.
“You look at the results of England over the last five years but they’re not producing quality players.
“And so everyone looks at the head coach and let’s blame the head coach. But the onus on producing quality players is the RFU and that hasn’t happened.
“You’ve got to look at why you’re not bringing talent through, then you’ve got to look at why your talent development systems are not doing that.
“(It’s) because the system’s not right. What needs to change? Where’s the gap? And that’s the responsibility of the RFU and it’s not for me to give them answers.”
If England make it through to the quarter-final, Jones’ Australia could be the opponents.
But the 63-year-old does not fear a reunion.
“I’m only worried about them if we play them in the quarter-final mode,” he said. “They’re a team that I coached for seven years, so I look back at them with affection. I like the players. I’d like to see them do well, but obviously not do well against us.
“I wouldn’t feel any affection for England at that time. I can tell you.”
Asked if he was sad about his departure nine months ago, he replied: “No, not at all. I’ve had a fantastic run. Seven years for an Australian coaching England.
“It’ll never be done again. Maybe there’ll never be a non-English man coaching England again.
“And at the end of the day there’s nothing to argue about, nothing to be disappointed about. Move on, get on with your next job and you look back at your previous team with affection, which I still do with England.”
Sense Of Duty has the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes high on her list of priorities at the end of the season, with William Haggas’ filly described as “50-50” to make her eagerly-awaited return at Haydock next weekend.
The daughter of Showcasing is unbeaten in four starts since suffering her sole defeat on debut and was climbing the sprinting ranks rapidly before injury curtailed her progress shortly after impressing in Newcastle’s Chipchase Stakes last season.
Off the track for over a year, the four-year-old is back in fast work with the hope of getting a first taste of Group One action in the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes on September 9.
However, it appears Sense Of Duty will need to be giving all the right signals to make the trip to Merseyside, with connections prepared to remain patient with the talented speedster.
“She’s obviously had some issues and at the moment she is in fast work and is in good shape,” said Richard Brown, racing manager for owners St Albans Bloodstock.
“I would say it is a toss of a coin if she makes Haydock, but if she doesn’t then we’re not worried.
“It’s one of them where if she’s screaming ‘run me’ then we’ll run her and if she’s not we won’t and it will be William who makes that call.”
Despite holding the big-race entry for Haydock, it is British Champions Day at Ascot on October 21 that forms the centrepiece of Sense Of Duty’s return to action.
Brown added: “The main aim would be Ascot and if she didn’t make Haydock then we would have a look and hopefully run her in a Listed race or a Group Three with Ascot after that being the main aim.
“If she goes to Haydock it will be because she’s ready and shouting she’s wanting to run. William will make that call and I would say it’s 50-50.
“Rightly we think she is a very good filly and we’re just taking our time with bringing her back and hopefully she will repay us at some point.”
Max Verstappen has hit back at criticism of his dominance and set the target of remaining unbeaten for the final nine races of the season.
The all-conquering Dutchman will become the first driver in history to win 10 consecutive races if he takes the chequered flag at the Italian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Verstappen has been in imperious form this year, winning 11 of the 13 rounds staged as he closes in on a hat-trick of World Championships.
With a lead of 183 points heading into this weekend’s race in Monza there is a chance he could even close out the title with six rounds still remaining at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24.
However, Verstappen’s emphatic streak has led to suggestions that the sport has become boring.
But responding to the accusations in an interview with the PA news agency, Verstappen, 25, said: “They cannot appreciate dominance or just people executing their jobs.
“It is nothing really new in Formula One, and I cannot do much with those kind of comments. Does it bother me? No. It would probably be worse if they were talking about other stuff. I am enjoying what I am doing and I hope I can do it for a while.
“I don’t want it to stop. We have another good opportunity this weekend. I believe I can win every single race.”
Verstappen’s victory on his home track in Zandvoort – which drew him level with Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine straight wins – was among the very best of the 46 of his career so far.
At one stage, he was lapping four seconds faster than Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull, and two seconds quicker than anybody else.
His virtuoso display in the inclement conditions prompted double world champion Fernando Alonso to say Verstappen’s achievements are being underestimated.
“It is not about getting the recognition because I know how hard it is to do,” said Verstappen.
“If it was very easy, more drivers would have won nine in a row, and more teams would have done it, and that is not the case.
“It hasn’t been straightforward either. In Zandvoort especially, a lot of things could have gone wrong, and in the end we still handled that really well.
“I never thought I would get to nine. I remember watching Seb do it, and I was like, ‘Jesus Christ, that is extremely difficult’, and now I am here and it is amazing.”
Verstappen will share the grid with long-time rival Lewis Hamilton for at least another two seasons after the British driver signed a new £50million-a-year deal to remain with Mercedes.
The contract extension will take Hamilton beyond his 40th birthday, and provides the possibility of a championship rematch with Verstappen if Mercedes can somehow close the gap to Red Bull.
Hamilton, who was denied an eighth world title after race director Michael Masi failed to follow the correct rules in Abu Dhabi in 2021, alluded to “unfinished business” after signing his latest deal.
Twenty months on from F1’s most contentious race, does Verstappen – who, on new tyres, had to pass Hamilton on the final lap to take the title – feel his maiden championship triumph was tainted?
“It was not like it was given to me,” he said. “I still had to do it.
“People always have short memories and they can forget a lot of stuff very quickly.
“It was a great year, and we had a lot of great battles with two teams going at it and that was amazing for Formula One.
“But you will always have a winner, and you will always have a loser. That is how this sport works, and I was also ready to lose.
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“It was a 50-50 chance and it fell my way. But in the future I could be in a situation where it doesn’t fall my way and that is how life goes.
“I don’t really care a lot about other people’s opinions. I only care about people that are very close to me so whatever people say or write, I am like ‘whatever’.
“I grew up my whole life wanting to be a Formula One driver and I will do everything it takes to try and be successful at it.
“I make my choices and my decisions and that is why I am very relaxed about these things. I go home, I switch off from Formula One, and I am happy with my career. And when I come back to the race weekends I do my thing, and that is it.”
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Welcome to the PA news agency’s live transfer deadline day blog .
The 2023 summer transfer window closes this evening at 11pm for Premier League and EFL clubs while it is midnight for teams in Scotland.
In the major European leagues there are various different deadlines today, from 1700 BST in Germany to 2300 BST in Spain, while the big-spending Saudi Pro League can continue buying players until September 7.
The likes of Karim Benzema, Neymar, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte have already swapped Europe for the Middle East this summer and it remains to be seen if they will be joined by any other big names in the coming week.
Clubs in the Women’s Super League, which does not kick-off until October, still have a few more weeks until their transfer window closes.
Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a grand slam to become the first player in major league history with 30 home runs and 60 stolen bases in a season and the Atlanta Braves held on to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-7 in a matchup of baseball’s two top teams on Thursday.
Acuna connected off Lance Lynn as part of Atlanta’s six-run second inning for his 30th home run and third career grand slam.
Rickey Henderson was the closest to being the first 30-60 player before Acuna. He had 28 homers and 87 steals in 1986 and 28 home runs and 65 steals in 1990.
Spencer Strider became the first pitcher to reach 16 wins this season, allowing four runs and four hits in six innings with two walks and nine strikeouts.
Joe Jimenez surrendered two solo home runs in the seventh, one to Michael Busch and Mookie Betts’ second of the game.
Max Muncy took A.J. Minter deep to lead off the eighth to make it 8-7 but Pierce Johnson got the final out of the eighth.
Raisel Iglesias put two runners on in the ninth before getting Muncy to fly out and striking out Kike Hernandez for his 27th save.
Michael Harris also homered for the major league-best Braves, who have won four straight and eight of nine.
They finished August with a 21-8 record, tying the Atlanta-era record for wins in a month set by the 1999 team that went 21-7.
Betts, among the leading candidates for NL MVP along with Acuna, hit a three-run homer off Strider in the fifth to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to 7-4.
Betts finished August with 11 home runs and has 38 on the season, extending his career high.
Yastrzemski leads Giants past listless Padres
Mike Yastrzemski homered and drove in two runs as the San Francisco Giants rolled to a 7-2 victory over the sloppy San Diego Padres.
Yastrzemski had an RBI single during San Francisco’s six-run third inning, with five of those runs unearned due to two errors by first baseman Matthew Batten.
Yastrzemski homered in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-0.
Jakob Junis pitched four hitless innings and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter.
The Giants moved one game ahead of idle Arizona in the race for the NL’s third wild-card spot.
Andy Murray bowed out of the US Open, but it was still a successful day for British tennis.
Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans all kept the flag flying into the third round, although Jodie Burrage came up short against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beat Lloyd Harris in straight sets and he will face Evans next.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at day four at Flushing Meadows.
Pic of the dayShot of the day
No contest.
Brit watch
Murray was desperately disappointed with how he played as he went down in straight sets to a familiar rival, Grigor Dimitrov. It was a 12th meeting of the pair and the Bulgarian 19th seed picked up his fourth win.
Norrie was a straight-sets winner against Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei and Evans came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in four.
Propably most impressive was Draper, who dispatched 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2 6-4 7-5.
Lucky escape
Boulter was relieved to avoid being defaulted after inadvertently hitting a ball towards spectators during her win over Wang Yafan.
The British number one had just lost a 20-shot rally in the first set when a ball kid threw her the ball and she swatted it away, accidentally sending it spinning into a gangway in front of the crowd.
Had the ball hit a spectator Boulter would have been disqualified, but the chair umpire merely issued a code violation for ball abuse.
Boulter went on to complete a 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory and will play American Peyton Stearns in round three.
Stat of the dayNo boos
The USTA put an announcement on the big screen explaining there would be no handshake between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova due to ‘global events’. It had the desired effect as there was no booing of either player, unlike at Wimbledon when Victoria Azarenka got it in the neck.
Fallen seeds:
Hubert Hurkacz (17)
Who’s up next?
Novak Djokovic continues his bid for a record-equalling 24th grand slam title against fellow Serbian Laslo Djere.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek faces her good friend, Slovakian qualifier Kaja Juvan.
Andy Murray bowed out of the US Open, but it was still a successful day for British tennis.
Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans all kept the flag flying into the third round, although Jodie Burrage came up short against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beat Lloyd Harris in straight sets and he will face Evans next.
Here, the PA news agency looks back at day four at Flushing Meadows.
Pic of the dayShot of the day
No contest.
Brit watch
Murray was desperately disappointed with how he played as he went down in straight sets to a familiar rival, Grigor Dimitrov. It was a 12th meeting of the pair and the Bulgarian 19th seed picked up his fourth win.
Norrie was a straight-sets winner against Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei and Evans came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in four.
Propably most impressive was Draper, who dispatched 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-2 6-4 7-5.
Lucky escape
Boulter was relieved to avoid being defaulted after inadvertently hitting a ball towards spectators during her win over Wang Yafan.
The British number one had just lost a 20-shot rally in the first set when a ball kid threw her the ball and she swatted it away, accidentally sending it spinning into a gangway in front of the crowd.
Had the ball hit a spectator Boulter would have been disqualified, but the chair umpire merely issued a code violation for ball abuse.
Boulter went on to complete a 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory and will play American Peyton Stearns in round three.
Stat of the dayNo boos
The USTA put an announcement on the big screen explaining there would be no handshake between Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova due to ‘global events’. It had the desired effect as there was no booing of either player, unlike at Wimbledon when Victoria Azarenka got it in the neck.
Fallen seeds:
Hubert Hurkacz (17)
Who’s up next?
Novak Djokovic continues his bid for a record-equalling 24th grand slam title against fellow Serbian Laslo Djere.
Defending champion Iga Swiatek faces her good friend, Slovakian qualifier Kaja Juvan.
Celtic got more business done ahead of transfer deadline day, but the Scottish champions could still be busy in the market ahead of midnight.
Defender Nat Phillips joined Brendan Rodgers’ squad on loan from Liverpool on Thursday after Honduran winger Luis Palma signed 24 hours earlier.
The Hoops are reported to be closing in on a loan move for Benfica midfielder Paulo Bernardo.
Rodgers had stressed after last weekend’s cinch Premiership draw with St Johnstone that the club needed to improve the team after strengthening the squad earlier in the window.
Sead Haksabanovic has been linked with potential moves to PAOK and Stoke after appearing to express frustration over a lack of game time on social media.
Another player keen for more game time, 18-year-old midfielder Rocco Vata, is understood to be wanted by Verona and Club Brugge.
Rangers got most of their business done ahead of the season, but the departure of Glen Kamara to Leeds on Thursday could prompt more activity.
The Ibrox men have been linked with a loan move for Leicester centre-back Harry Souttar.
Motherwell added much-needed reinforcements up front on Thursday by signing Oli Shaw on loan from Barnsley following injuries to three strikers.
Aberdeen remain active while Hibernian caretaker manager David Gray would not rule out any late moves from his club and Hearts could also strengthen.
Ross County could be in line for a seven-figure sell-on windfall amid reports Sunderland have accepted a bid worth up to £10million from Southampton for former Staggies striker Ross Stewart.
Kilmarnock and St Mirren remain in the hunt for forwards while St Johnstone could potentially add again and Dundee manager Tony Docherty has not ruled out another signing despite being happy with his squad.
Livingston are not anticipating any late business ahead of the midnight deadline.
Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Jack Draper kept the British flag flying heading into round three at the US Open.
Andy Murray may have been sent packing, but there were sparkling wins for the other three British men at Flushing Meadows.
British number one Cameron Norrie fired 15 aces on his way to a 7-5 6-4 6-4 victory over qualifier Hsu Yu-hsiou of Chinese Taipei.
“Honestly, he should have won the first set but I was able to take the momentum into the second set,” said the 28-year-old.
“I was really happy with how I played the big points and I’m happy to be through.”
Norrie will face world number 61 Matteo Arnaldi of Italy in round three.
Evans, the British number two, came from a set down to beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 1-6 6-1 6-3 6-3.
It is the sixth time the 33-year-old has reached the third round at Flushing Meadows, although he will have his work cut out to go any further, with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz his next opponent.
Probably most impressive was Draper, who last year was ranked as high as 38 in the world but has endured a torrid 12 months with injuries and had to miss Wimbledon with a shoulder tear.
Now outside the top 100, Draper felt the shoulder again in a warm-up event in the US and feared the worst.
But the issue has cleared up and Draper is yet to drop a set at Flushing Meadows after beating 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-4 7-5 in the second round.
“I felt something in my arm again that I hadn’t had in a while, and, you know, came here with the intention of ‘we’ll take it day by day’,” he said.
“I had a scan and I had a very small bit of edema in my arm, which is basically a tear.
“I was looking with my coach and physio thinking, you know, just another bit of time off. We were almost in tears. What more can we do?”
He continued: “There was a strong chance I couldn’t play this week. But we got the scans done and sent it back home and they said it’s not the same injury, so it’s not that serious.
“I’m kind of looking after it each day. It was a bit sore after my last match but when the adrenaline kicks in and obviously playing the US Open, I just put it out of my mind and go out and try my best to play the tennis I want to.”
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz breezed into the third round at the US Open with another straight-sets win.
This time the victim was Lloyd Harris, who used to train with Alcaraz when the world number one was 15 at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Academy.
The South African gave Alcaraz a test in the third set but the seemingly unstoppable force still registered a 6-3 6-1 7-6 (4) win.
“I think I played a great match from the beginning until the last ball, but if I have to take something from the match I want to keep the level of the second set,” said Alcaraz, 20.
“I had to stay focused, stay strong mentally. It was pretty good for me and to win in straight sets is really important in the first rounds.”
There was a routine win for sixth seed Jannik Sinner, who beat fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-2 6-4.
American ninth seed Taylor Fritz also won in straight sets, coasting past Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru 6-1 6-2 6-2.
Alexander Zverev, seeded 12, won the all-German clash against Daniel Altmaier in four sets and will meet Grigor Dimitrov, the 19th seed who knocked out former champion Andy Murray.
Big-serving American John Isner called time on his career, fittingly enough, in a fifth-set tie-break as he lost his final match to compatriot Michael Mmoh.
Katie Boulter was relieved to avoid being defaulted after inadvertently hitting a ball towards spectators during her US Open second-round win over Wang Yafan.
The British number one had just lost a 20-shot rally in the first set when a ball kid threw her the ball and she swatted it away, accidentally sending it spinning into a gangway in front of the crowd.
Had the ball hit a spectator Boulter would have been disqualified, but the chair umpire merely issued a code violation for ball abuse.
View this post on Instagram“Firstly, the safety of everyone is the most important thing for me,” she said. “It was completely unintentional, and luckily it wasn’t anywhere close to anyone.“But for a second I was feeling pretty bad, if I’m honest.
“Of course there’s a lot of ifs. At the end of the day I’ve got to play with the facts. It didn’t (hit someone). It would be my worst nightmare, it really would. Completely unintentional, as well.
“Yeah, it was an unfortunate situation, but we moved through, and we managed to get a win.”
The 27-year-old went on to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the first time after a gutsy 5-7 6-1 6-4 victory over China’s Wang.
As well as the ball incident, in a tight first set Boulter retrieved an early break, and had three set points on the Wang serve.
But she was unable to convert any of them and Wang promptly broke to wrap up the set.
However Boulter, from Leicester, cleared her head impressively and dominated the second set to level the match.
Having broken again for 5-4 in the decider she suffered a horrible wobble, throwing in two double faults in the first three points.
But once again Boulter recovered her composure and wrapped up a fine win when Wang hit the net.
“I thought it was an absolute battle,” she added. “I worked really, really hard. I had a lot of chances in the first set. I didn’t quite get over the line.
“I think there were a few nerves, I’m not entirely sure why, but there were a few nerves in the first.
“After we finished that set I relaxed a bit and started to be a little bit more aggressive and it really paid off.”
There was disappointment, although not a major surprise, for Britain’s other remaining woman, Jodie Burrage.
The 24-year-old equipped herself well against second seed and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka but bowed out 6-3 6-2 inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Obviously not the result I was looking for, but I had a pretty tough opponent,” said Burrage. “I thought she played really well today. She served really well, especially in the big moments.
“But I’m happy with how I played in a way and happy with how I was on the court.
“It’s a big occasion and you’re playing a big player like that. And I’m happy with the way I went about it. I didn’t feel out of place out there at all.”
Despite another gallant effort in the men’s javelin throw, Grenada’s Anderson Peters had to settle for fifth in the event at the Wanda Diamond League in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday.
Peters, the 2019 and 2022 World Champion, who failed to defend his title in Budapest, struggled for rhythm in his series, registering 78.78m, 78.41m and 77.82m, before hitting his best mark of 81.01m on his final attempt.
The event was won by World Championships bronze medallist, Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic, with a mark of 85.86m which came on his final attempt, as he denied newly minted World champion Neeraj Chopra (85.71m) India. Chopra’s mark was also on his final attempt.
Germany’s Julian Weber (85.04m) was third.
Andy Murray admits he may have to accept his days of competing in the latter stages of grand slams could well be over.
The 36-year-old former world number one bowed out of the US Open after a dispiriting second-round defeat to his old rival Grigor Dimitrov.
In the 12th meeting between two veterans of the sport, and seven years after their last one, 19th seed Dimitrov registered only his fourth win over the Scot.
Murray wilted inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the court upon which he won his first grand slam title in 2012, as he slipped to a 6-3 6-4 6-1 defeat.
“I mean, it’s obviously disappointing to not play how you would like, you know?” said Murray, who has not made it past the third round of a major event since 2017.
“But maybe I need to accept that, these events, I had the deep runs and everything that I felt like I’m capable of, they might not be there, as well.
“So, you know, I’m aware what I’m doing, it’s unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level as I am now. And some days it’s harder than others.
“But yeah, today is obviously a really disappointing defeat and probably the manner of it as well. I mean, I fought hard enough, but just didn’t play well enough.
“You know, ultimately these are the events that you want to play your best tennis in and create more great moments, and I didn’t do that this year.”
A ding-dong of a first set, including two brutal 15-minute games, was poised at 3-3 with almost an hour played and the match was shaping up to be another Murray marathon.
Murray had lost eight points in a row to slip behind but hit back after an astonishing get from a man with a metal hip, retrieving a net cord by deftly angling the ball away from Dimitrov.
He continued his run past the net post and into Dimitrov’s side of the court, where the Bulgarian clapped his opponent before both tapped rackets.
That was where the niceties ended, though, and Murray’s hopes quickly went south.
He came up with an absolute stinker of a service game, two double-faults and two unforced errors gifting Dimitrov the set and the momentum.
Murray was broken again at the start of the second and his shoulders slumped even further when his solitary chance to break back drifted wide.
The constant chuntering to his team was getting less and less cordial and, at 4-1 down in the third, he gestured to them that the match was over as a contest.
The two-time Wimbledon champion was proved to be right two games later as another attempt to challenge at a grand slam fell well short.
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