Wimbledon 2012: Andy Murray Fights Rain, Tiebreaks to Beat David Ferrer in Four

With Prince William and Princess Kate watching on, in their ever-present regal manner from their courtside box, fourth-seeded Andy Murray mounted a furious fight after losing the first set to seventh-seeded David Ferrer, winning the Wimbledon quarterfinal showdown 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 7-6.

Down 5-2 in the second-set tiebreak, with Ferrer looking set to take a two-sets-to-none lead, Murray suddenly took charge.

He began forcing the nimble, workmanlike Spaniard from side to side, dictating play with ruthless efficiency as he won five of the next six points to grab the set, and to a greater extent the match, by the scruff of the neck and get himself back on even terms at 1-1.

Successive brilliant returns from Ferrer's bending serves—one forehand winner that bounced away from Ferrer, who could muster but a hopeless swipe at it, the other a brilliant backhand that forced an error from the 30-year-old—saw Murray break his opponent's serve to take a 5-4 lead in the third set.

Henman Hill, or "Murray Mound" as it's come to be known in recent years, was nearing delirium, so tantalizing was this comeback by the Scotsman.

Murray did not waste the momentum earned by the surge, winning the next game to take the third set from Ferrer at 6-4 and thus obtain a priceless 2-1 set lead.

A rumor is circulating, noted by ESPN commentator Chris Fowler during Murray's match, that should the Scot make it to Sunday's final, tickets to Centre Court would cost upwards of £25,000.

Given Murray's gritty display on Wednesday, that exorbitant sum may yet reap some aesthetic dividends for a viewer.

Faced with coming back from multiple break points at 15-40 with Ferrer up 4-3 in the fourth set, Murray won back a point with a delicate drop shot before overpowering Ferrer with a 131-mph screamer of a serve, to which the Spaniard could muster only a limp return, allowing Murray to bring the game to deuce.

With another two well-played points, Murray took the game and knotted the fourth set at 4-4.

Before the next game, cameras picked up Murray affording himself the faintest of smiles. A rarity while he's competing—he's normally the essence of stone-faced stoicism—but it was perhaps a telling sign that he felt he had it within himself to win this match in four sets without having to go the terribly taxing distance of five.

Two brilliant backhands in that next game brought Murray two break points on Ferrer and got his coach Ivan Lendl to the edge of his seat as he struggled to restrain his unabashed glee at his charge's brilliant display.

Having won just three of eight break points to that juncture, Murray hit a forehand out of play that brought the game to deuce.

Despite a couple superb backhands—one powerful, one subtle—from Murray, Ferrer pulled out a couple brilliant shots of his own, including one fantastic forehand, to take the game and push the set to 5-4.

Murray brought the set to 5-all after winning the next game, but a sudden pattering of rain scuppered any momentum he might have hoped to muster in his flurry toward the finish.

The delay lasted just over 45 minutes, with play picking back up at 7:23 p.m. local London time.

Murray was rushing to get back into some sort of rhythm—ESPN had to do some rushing of their own to cut away from commercials, so speedy was Murray to begin serving—and both players took one game apiece to bring the set to 6-6, and force yet another tiebreaker.

On his penultimate point in the tiebreak—a powerful forehand winner as Ferrer went the other way, Murray offered a "Yeah!" in exultation.

A bit more luxurious in terms of personal allotment than that smile, but it showed how confident he'd become. The winning point, it seemed, had become mere formality. And take it he did, winning the match.

Speaking to ESPN soon after his victory, Murray struck a composed figure. He knew he had a trying semifinal showdown against fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on tap.

"He (Tsonga) hadn't lost a serve in the first four rounds," Murray said on camera. "I'm going to have to play very well to beat him."

When the interviewer brought up "Murray mania," which seems to have enveloped Britain—at least the broader area of Wimbledon—in its fervent clutches, Murray almost looked embarrassed. He answered demurely and quickly, just as he'd played throughout the match, and then exited stage left for a well-deserved rest.

He'll certainly need it against Tsonga on Friday.