Deflated Murray fans count cost of defeat

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) - Fans of Andy Murray who paid over the odds for Wimbledon final tickets in the hope of seeing the Briton enter the record books tried to recoup their losses on Saturday, while bookmakers breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

World number three Murray, who had been bidding to become the first Briton in the men''s final since 1938, crashed out to American sixth seed Andy Roddick in the semi-finals on Friday, saving bookies millions of pounds in payouts.

Ticket resale websites saw a flurry of activity as deflated Murray fans, some of whom had paid as much as seven times the face value for tickets for Sunday''s final, put them up for sale.

"No longer going as there is no Murray," one post read, advertising a pair of tickets for Sunday''s final at 1,300 pounds ($2,134) after having bought them for 750 pounds each a week earlier.

"Face value of tickets is 100 pounds but were bought for much more than this, looking to make back some of the loss," it added, a sentiment echoed in many other posts on the website.

The Scot had been widely tipped to play five-time champion Roger Federer for the title, and as he progressed through each round demand for final tickets -- advertised for as much as 20,000 pounds on auction websites -- boomed.

REALISTIC PRICE

While demand for men''s final tickets remained on Saturday, many fans were no longer willing to pay as much for them without the prospect of a home-grown player to get behind.

"Two tickets wanted for Wimbledon men''s final on Sunday," one person posted on gumtree.com. "Realistic price please now that Murray is out."

But as the Murray-mania that had gripped the nation began to fizzle out, replaced by disappointment that yet another British hopeful had failed to deliver a Wimbledon title, not everyone was feeling so dejected.

Bookmakers had been poised to dig deep if the 22-year-old had gone all the way on Sunday.

"If Murray had won we would have been paying out more than we ever have before on any individual at a tennis tournament," said William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe.

"Total payout for the betting industry would have been approaching ten million (pounds)."

Sharpe said one punter alone stood to collect 16,000 pounds if Murray had won, having backed him in 2004 at odds of 200-1 to win Wimbledon by the 2010 championships.

Ticket resale website viagogo.co.uk will also be feeling quietly relieved at the British player''s defeat.  Continued...