Andy Murray emerged from a remarkable fourth-round win over Richard Gasquet in near darkness on the Wimbledon Centre Court last night and then predicted he would beat world No2 Rafael Nadal in the last eight and go on to claim the title.

Murray has reached the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for the first time courtesy of an sensational 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over eighth seed Gasquet and it sets up a battle with Nadal that will enthral the nation.

The Scot received only muted support as he lost the first two sets but won over the Wimbledon crowd for the first time by the end and will use their backing to power him to glory against the Spaniard.

Murray said: "I have felt from the start of the championships that I can win the title and now it's my job to give the crowd something to shout about against Nadal and give everyone the belief I can do it.

"I just need to make sure I recover well after this win and I might be feeling sore for a couple days. Obviously, Nadal's the favourite for the match but, I do think that I can win.

"Having played him at the Australian Open last year, I learnt that I could perform at his level and, for probably four-and-a-half sets, I was up there with him and definitely had my chances.

"I think both of our games have changed a bit since then. He's definitely playing better on grass than he was in previous years and I like to think I'm playing better. It's going to be a completely different match."