WIMBLEDON, England -- The last American in the Wimbledon men's singles draw was a set down Saturday and had just broken back to tie the second when someone yelled encouragement from the stands.

"America's hopes are in your hands, big guy,'' the fan shouted.

Jeff Morrison smiled.

A few minutes later, the former NCAA champion fired an ace past Sjeng Schalken to hold serve and take a 4-3 lead in the second set.

Morrison, wearing gray shoes and clunky Velcro black ankle supports, began walking with a spring in his step. The set went to a tiebreaker, with the American going ahead 6-3 to earn three set points.

But Morrison's comeback ended there.

Schalken, who had played in 29 Grand Slams without advancing to the fourth round, used an outstanding return of serve, fighting back to win the tiebreaker 9-7 for a two-set lead.

The match was all but over -- Schalken broke Morrison's serve three times in the third set on the way to 6-4, 7-6 (7), 6-0 victory.

"It sort of fell away from me, took the wind out of my sails,'' Morrison said of the blown opportunity in the tiebreaker. "But that's the way it goes.''

Morrison followed No. 3 Andre Agassi and No. 6 Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick and James Blake out of the All England Club. And, for the first time since 1922, no American man will be playing in the fourth round.

Asked whether he thought he'd still be in the tournament when Agassi, Sampras and Roddick were eliminated, the 98th-ranked Morrison replied: "I would figure I had to be a lot further than the third round, that's for sure.''

Morrison, a 23-year-old West Virginian who made it into the main draw as a lucky loser when Germany's Tommy Haas withdrew, said he wasn't aware until Saturday morning that he was the last American hope.

"It's unfortunate what happened to the American men this week, but I didn't feel any undue pressure,'' he said. "It wasn't the best for all of us, but it was a good tournament for me.''

Schalken said he didn't believe Morrison had trouble coping with the pressure.

"I didn't feel that way -- I was just thinking, 'Wow, he's a good player,' '' the Dutchman said.

Morrison believes he's a better player after his performance at Wimbledon.

"This has been probably the best week of my tennis career,'' he said. "And now I'll just have to build on that and have a good rest of the summer.''

Morrison left Huntington, West Virginia, to pursue a career in tennis instead of the family trade -- waste water and sewage treatment.

Now, he's a household name in Huntington.

"The town was in a buzz, it was big news and a lot of people were happy for me,'' he said. "My family had hundreds of phone calls from people that watched on TV.''

But he's still got some work to do at Wimbledon.

On Saturday, the official tournament information sheets had him listed as "Jim Morrison.''