IT has been described as one of his greatest ever battles as Andy Murray went toe-to-toe with one of his fiercest rivals.

But it still was not good enough to spare Scotland's heartache as the tennis star saw another Grand Slam dream evaporate in a bruising encounter.

Murray brought the country to a standstill yesterday as fans watched with bated breath as he came agonisingly close to beating world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

The hard-fought semi-final battle, which lasted almost five hours, saw Murray put in a steely performance against the Serbian in an extraordinary five-set encounter that he lost 6-3 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 7-5

But fans were again left disappointed, despite claims – including from Murray himself – the performance proved he is now ready to challenge the top three and secure that first elusive major title.

Tennis Scotland chief executive David Marshall said: "If anybody had any doubts about Andy's ability to compete with the world's best, today will hopefully have silenced those critics. Both men played world-class tennis throughout one of the best matches of Andy's career.

"Surely it is only a matter of time before he lifts that elusive first major."

Scots scrambled to watch the match where they could as news of the epic battle spread, while messages of support and sorrow flooded social networking sites following Murray's defeat.

At Celtic Park, a press conference was delayed as manager Neil Lennon and his support staff paused to watch the last set on a television in the stadium's foyer. Speaking about his team's Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final against Falkirk on Sunday, Lennon said: "I hope our game isn't as close as Andy Murray's, or as long."

At Rangers' Murray Park, manager Ally McCoist regularly asked for updates on the match during his team's press conference.

Judy Murray, normally courtside during her son's matches, was forced to watch from Israel where she is performing her duties as British Federations Cup captain. She posted on Twitter: "He was awesome. Novak was just a tiny wee bit awesomer. Next time!"

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also posted: "Hard lines Andy – you do us proud and your Grand Slam day is coming."

A BBC Scotland worker tweeted: "The whole BBC Scotland newsroom is deflated since Andy Murray lost."

And another fan posted: "Hats off to Andy Murray. Battled very hard. Think he is going to be the best tennis player never to win a major tournament."

Murray looked like he could win the match on several occasions, but Djokovic continually managed to turn it around.Following the match, Murray claimed he was "proud" of his performance and felt he had progressed as a player since his last clash with Djokovic in the 2011 final.

He said: "Everybody matures at different ages and different rates. I feel now like I'm ready mentally (to challenge the top three). Physically I can still get better, for sure.

"But in comparison to how I played last year, it was much, much better.

"Tonight's match was important for many reasons. Obviously I wanted to win first and foremost, but after last year, the year that Novak had, I think there's a very fine line between being No 1 in the world and being three or four.

"I think that gap, I feel tonight I closed it. My job over the next two or three months is to surpass him and the guys in front of me."

Murray, who has credited new coach Ivan Lendl with boosting his confidence, added: "(I am) a different player, (with) a different attitude to this time last year. I'm proud of the way I fought."

Djokovic also gave credit to his rival, saying: "Andy deserves the credit to come back from 5-2 down, he was fighting, I was fighting.

"It was evidently a physical match, it was one of the best matches I have played, emotionally and physically it was equally hard."

Djokovic will now go on to face Rafael Nadal in the final tomorrow.