British hopes fade as Rusedski loses

Hopes of an all-British men's final ended today as Greg Rusedski crashed out of Wimbledon after losing to Xavier Malisse in a five-set, two-day drama.

After an overnight break in his fourth-round clash with the Belgian hopeful, the 6ft Canadian-born star failed to win the crucial fifth set in a nail-biting 30 minutes this afternoon.

Rusedski's defeat means all the nation's hopes of winning Wimbledon in the Queen's Golden Jubilee year now rests on the shoulders of Tim Henman who plays in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Rain affected most matches yesterday, delaying Rusedski's game with Malisse which was eventually stopped due to bad light at two sets all.

However Rusedski was broken by the world no 35 half way through the final set and never regained supremacy despite a nail-biting last game.

Rusedski looked devastated afterwards and left the centre court swiftly.

Until today, the nation had been dreaming of a Henman-Rusedski final, especially after almost all the top seeds were knocked out of the competition last week.

But even the loyal support inside the court and on what was today dubbed Rusedski ridge could not help lift him to glory.

Rusedski has only reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals once - in 1997 - and will be ruing his missed opportunity today.

FULL COVERAGE OF THE MATCH