Andy Murray saw his Wimbledon dream destroyed by Rafael Nadal last night and then made the clay-court maestro favourite to win his first Grand Slam title on grass.

Murray was taken apart 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in his first appearance in the last eight at the All England Club by Nadal.

The Spaniard was beaten at the last hurdle in the past two Wimbledon finals, but Murray now feels he is ready to go one better.

He said: "If Rafa plays that well and returns like that, he's very close to being the favourite to win the tournament.

"After his first match, I think he's played some great tennis. He's got a very, very good chance of winning and was close last year - and I think he's playing better now."

Nadal, the French Open champion, must wait until later today to discover his semi-final opponent as Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement are tied one-set all after their match was halted because of bad light on Court One.

Roger Federer, who has won five successive Wimbledon titles, faces unseeded Marat Safin and has now reached 17 Slam semi-finals in a row.

Federer is also playing outstanding tennis but Murray believes it is crucial improvements by the world No2 that have made him even more dangerous on grass.

Murray added: "It's amazing how fast Rafa moves his arm and how much control he has over the ball. His results are amazing and the consistency he has on every surface is unbelievable.

"He still played a lot of top-spin, but he's just hitting the ball lower with the same amount of spin. It's shooting through a bit more, which makes it harder.

"Rafa's improved his game a lot on the grass in the last couple of years and he's definitely closer to Federer this year."

Murray, who will return into the world's top ten when the new rankings come out on Monday, will take a few days break from tennis before starting his preparations for the US Open next month.

He added: "I can improve so many things in my game and it's up to me I make sure I do that."