In a match that spanned two days and more than four-and-a-half hours, the 36-year-old two time champion could not build on the 2-1 sets lead he held overnight against the Greek, going down 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (2-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in front of a packed Centre Court crowd.

Hopes had been high that Murray would reappear on Friday afternoon and finish the job off after some inspired shot-making on Thursday night, but Tsitsipas served exceptionally well and pounced on signs of fatigue from the Scot at the start of the fifth set to claim the victory. The 24-year-old from Athens moves on to play unseeded Serbian Laslo Djere in the third round.

Murray exits the tournament at the same stage as last year, when he was defeated by American John Isner, and will now have to ponder the rest of his season, with the US hard court swing beginning next month.

Andy Murray's Wimbledon campaign has come to an end following a five-set defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Murray was not the only Scot to depart Wimbledon on Friday after the 12th seed Cameron Norrie suffered a surprise defeat by Christopher Eubanks. The big server from the US won his maiden ATP Tour title last week in Mallorca and continued his excellent form with a 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-6 (7-3) triumph over last year’s semi-finalist. Eubanks now takes on Chris O’Connell from Australia for a place in the last 16.

Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie crash out of Wimbledon on difficult day for Scots at SW19