World number two Rafael Nadal crushed Andy Murray's Wimbledon hopes with an awesome Centre Court display on Thursday.

The Spaniard came through 6-3 6-2 6-4 in just one hour 55 minutes.

A stirring comeback against Richard Gasquet in the quarter-final had raised British hopes that Murray might cause an upset against Nadal.

But the second seed was in sensational form. Nadal did not face a single break point and lost just 10 points on serve as he roared into the semi-finals.

A packed Centre Court crowd, who had come in the hope of seeing Murray repeat the heroics of Monday's win over Gasquet, were left to applaud the brilliance of Nadal.

The warning signs were there for Murray in the opening game, with Nadal serving.

Trailing 40-0, the Scot stepped up and belted a fabulous backhand return right at Nadal's feet - but the Spaniard merely rocked back and effortlessly half-volleyed a forehand right onto the opposing baseline, putting his opponent on the back foot.

It set the tone for the match. Whatever Murray threw at Nadal, the world number two just came back with better.

Having squandered a break point at 3-2, Nadal earned two more when Murray shanked a forehand beyond the baseline and clinched it when the 21-year-old sent a routine smash long - to horrified gasps from the crowd.

Nadal did not let up in the second set, and perhaps even stepped up a gear.

At 1-1, Murray, bowing to relentless pressure from the other end, threw in two errors off the ground followed by a double fault to concede the break.

The crowd were, by now, almost silent, seeking a flash of inspiration from their man where none was forthcoming.

Murray looked listless, perhaps the result of his five-set win on Monday or perhaps drained by the pressure from Nadal, and he was broken again as Nadal wrapped up the second set in 33 minutes.

The crowd briefly came to life in the third set as Murray bravely fought off two break points at 2-2, roaring his approval.

But this was not to be the start of a miracle comeback. Nadal raced through a love service game and immediately set about doing what he had failed to manage in the previous game.

He twice pegged Murray back to deuce at 3-3 before the Briton made another couple of errors to hand Nadal the advantage.

Murray received a huge roar of approval when he raced up to the net and passed Nadal to make the Spaniard serve out his victory.

But serve it out he did, as Murray sent a tired forehand long on match point.