Andy Murray raised the roof of Centre Court as he fought through to the Wimbledon quarter-finals in an epic five-set battle.

The 22-year-old Scot became the first player to start a match beneath Centre Court's new state-of-the-art canopy when he walked out to face friend and practice partner Stanislas Wawrinka.

In the air conditioned arena, beneath artificial light, and in front of a deafening crowd, Murray won a nail-biting encounter 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3, taking three hours and 57 minutes.

British tennis fans were on their feet as Murray dropped to his knees on the verge of tears.

Looking emotional, the world number three said: "It was pretty special. I thought Stan played a great match. The standard that he set at the start of the match was very tough to keep up with. I was getting tired towards the end."

He said he did not always take his chances but "stayed tough".

"It was great. Always when you play indoors the atmosphere is great but when you've got 15,000 people supporting you it makes it extra special so thanks a lot."

He said there would be "no dreaming" tonight. "I'll have a pretty deep sleep after that one. It was a great day."

As Murray practised ahead of his match today, he received some friendly abuse from a group of onlooking Australians, with one shouting: "I bet you can't handle this sort of heat."

But in the air conditioned arena, with temperatures of 24C, Murray proved he was cool enough under the pressure - just.

After Murray lost the first four games of his match, the atmosphere around the All England Club was tense.

And as he moved towards levelling the match at one set all, the fans on Murray Mound watched every point with rapt attention.

With each point lost came a collective groan. And with each winner, it was not only Murray pumping his fist.

Bernadette Burns, from Blackley in Manchester, who came to Wimbledon to celebrate her 60th birthday, said: "He's struggling a little bit but we've got faith.

"It would be devastating if he lost, he's our big hope, the biggest we've had for a long time. We're hoping he can do what Tim (Henman) couldn't do."

Three students from Exeter University wearing tennis whites printed with T, I and M, motivated the crowd.

Toby Lamb, 20, from Worcester, said: "It's never boring being British. Henman created the atmosphere and Murray's bringing the success. It's awesome."

Edward Lamaison, 20, from Cambridge, said: "It's the same old British rollercoaster going up and down."

As darkness fell outside, the stadium lights stayed on. And the drama of the match also lit up the arena.

Fellow Scot and actor Ewan McGregor watched on tenterhooks, while Murray's mother Judy and girlfriend Kim Sears were yelling encouragement.

Murray berated himself on several occasions, bashing his fist against the strings of his racket, hammering his head, and shouting with frustration.

But when he came back to lead two sets to one many people in the crowd allowed themselves to relax a little.

It was too soon. Wawrinka, 24, the Swiss 19th seed, fought back, winning the fourth set and taking it to a fifth.

This was history in the making - the roof allowed the latest ever championship play, with the match not finishing until 10.38pm.

The previous latest play on Centre Court was a women's doubles game in 1981 featuring Sue Barker which was eventually stopped due to bad light at 9.35pm.

And the previous latest ever match since records began five years ago also featured Wawrinka, when he lost to Mario Ancic on Court No1 three years ago, finishing at 9.49pm.

It had been the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures on the court reaching 31C.

And although the light drizzle soon passed, the cover, put into use in the previous match between Dinara Safina and Amelie Mauresmo, remained.

Murray, who is bidding to become the first British man to win the championships since Fred Perry in 1936, now only needs to win two more matches to take his place in the final.

His opponent in the next round is Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world number one now ranked 70, who lost to the Scot earlier this month at Queen's.

He said earlier: "I think right now I'm with a little bit more rhythm that that week and after the match I play against him I learn something.

"That is I have to do my job, be aggressive all the time, because he likes to play in one level and then he change rhythm very fast.

"He's at home and he wants to win and everybody wants him to win, so it's going to be tough as every match is."