Andy Murray denied first grass court title in six years with Surbiton Trophy semi-final exit

Former world number one Andy Murray was denied a place in the Surbiton Trophy final following a surprise defeat to Denis Kudla.
The American came back from a set down, survived a tiebreak in the second, and powered to victory in the third as he sealed his place in the final.
The 5-7 7-6 6-3 defeat means Murray continues his six-year wait for a title on grass, with his last tournament win on the surface coming at Wimbledon in 2016.
The three-time grand slam winner decided to skip the French Open in order to better prepare for the start of Wimbledon.
Murray made a great start at the Surbiton Trophy as he picked up straight sets victories over Jurij Rodionov, Gijs Brouwer and Brendon Nakashima.
However, getting past Kudla proved a step too far as the former British number one fell to a three-set defeat.
The 35-year-old will now set his sights on next week's Stuttgart Open and Queen's Club as he continues his Wimbledon preparations.
Andy Murray loses out in the #SurbitonTrophy semi-final
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 4, 2022
Denis Kudla fought back to win 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 in West London#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/91QK57iCaC
After the match, Kudla said: "This is probably the biggest win of my career. Unbelievable. The conditions were tough. Super windy.
"By the warm-up I felt I was hitting the ball clean. There's something about grass that I feel comfortable and at ease. I feel like a whole different tennis player after being terrible on clay for two months. I'm just happy to be here."
Kudla will now take on Jordan Thompson in the final after the Australian picked up a 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory over Finland's Otto Virtanen.
Thompson was dumped out of the French Open in the opening round following a straight sets defeat to Sunday's finalist, Rafael Nadal.