The end when it came for Andy Murray was drawn out, painful and not entirely unexpected. His quest for a third Wimbledon title evaporated on Centre Court when his aching hip finally gave up on him and Sam Querrey took full advantage of his injury to win their quarter-final 3-6, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-1.

The affable beanpole is the first American in the men’s semi-finals here since Andy Roddick eight years ago, but his chances of getting past a fully fit Marin Cilic in the semi-finals are probably slimmer than were his prospects against a limping Murray.

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The defending champion moved like Hercules – Harold Steptoe’s horse, not the mythical strongman – in the two hours and 42 minutes it lasted. In the closing two sets, which lasted a combined 49 minutes, he was powerless to change the direction or mood of the contest, so hobbled was he by his hip. At times he used his racket as a crutch, although not once did he consider surrendering.

Murray was bidding to join Johanna Konta in the semi-finals, where they would have become the first British players to go this deep in the men’s and women’s draws at the same Wimbledon tournament. Now Konta shoulders the nation’s hopes alone. If there was a crumb of comfort for Murray, it was Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal with a long-standing elbow injury in the second set against Tomas Berdych. That keeps the Scot at No1 in the world, but it is desperately close at the top. His reign, which began when he toppled Djokovic from the top of the mountain last November, is under siege.

As it stands, Murray is No1, followed by Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, all within 1,500 ranking points. Roger Federer will jump back up to No3 if he wins the tournament.

More worrying for Murray is the idea that a statistical tussle at the top of a notional tree is the extended trend of his minor decline: this was his fourth defeat from two sets to one up since last September; before that, he had won 39 on the spin from that position. He has health problems to fix first, but will be just as concerned about the restricted movement that has made him less competitive in big matches.

Murray said after beating Benoît Paire in the fourth round: “If I’m struggling and not moving well, it affects my performance maybe more than other guys who don’t rely on their movement as much.” That prognosis told the story of this quarter-final. Murray was rooted to the turf going sideways, hitting a lot of shots off one leg and serving way below his best. He fought all the way to the end, as he always does, but there could be no denying that his hip was the problem as much as his tennis.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Murray struggles during the fourth set. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

On a dull afternoon, it had all started so brightly. Within three minutes Murray was two games up and Querrey had won just a single point, with the first of his 27 aces, which took him to the top of the tournament table on 126. After seven minutes Murray had raced to 3-0, but may have suspected he would need the protection of that flying start if Querrey ever got his long right arm working – and he did.

The American had taken nearly 10 hours, 17 sets and four tie-breaks to get to the quarter-finals, while Murray had taken eight hours and 20 minutes for the loss of a single set – but the numbers and running score disguised a disturbing truth.

Serving at 4-2 up, Murray refused to chase down a routine lob that landed within his reach. While he might have been husbanding his resources for bigger battles to come, it looked more like he was guarding that mysterious hip injury.

He looked laboured with ball in hand and his second serve often dipped below 90mph; Querrey was so far off the pace he could not cash in and Murray took the first set in 28 minutes.

The arena had finally filled, but there was a growing sense of concern in the crowd. Murray did not look at his best. Hope might have been stronger than expectation that Querrey would fall in a heap for him. But the world No28 – who put Novak Djokovic out in the fourth round last year, and this season beat David Goffin, Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal in one magical week in Acapulco – was inclined to hang around.

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In the second set, Querrey held to love in the ninth game with his ninth ace and broke Murray at the third attempt to level at one set apiece. Then, as he has done so many times before, Murray sprang back to life in adversity, breaking and holding with some of his old magic. By the time he had returned in the third set to the 4-3 lead he held in the second, his game had transformed – but again he threw it away. Querrey broke for 5-5 with a blistering cross-court backhand – but lost the plot in the tie-break.

However, he wrote the script for the rest of the match. Querrey broke three times to wrap up the fourth set in 22 bewildering minutes and the anxiety levels rose appreciably in Murray’s box. Ivan Lendl and his team needed no reminding that the Scot had lost his last three five-set matches. His task, on one working leg, was now Herculean, but the weight was too much.

Querrey, who once was emotionally bruised when rejected on a celebrity TV dating programme, also has a bit of steel about him. Now he produced it: a finishing 118mph ace beyond Murray’s right arm, which hung motionless by his side. “I didn’t start my best, just kept swinging away,” Querrey said later. “I’m going to enjoy this one a little bit longer, rest tomorrow and do my best to get ready for the semis.”