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Gong derails Murray; Serena wins
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ANDY Murray lost his way, seven consecutive games and, eventually, his riveting five-set US Open quarterfinal against Kei Nishikori after a loud noise from a malfunctioning sound system interrupted a key point, resulting in a do-over.
Whether or not the gong-like sound, and chair umpire Marija Cicak’s let ruling, was the reason that Nishikori wound up coming back to win 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Wednesday, it surely will be what’s most remembered about the back-and-forth, 4-hour match.
After all, Murray’s extended discussions with Cicak and another official about the unusual episode came during a stretch in which he dropped 12 of 14 points.
He went from a lead of two sets to one, plus a break point at 1-all, to ceding the fourth set and trailing 0-2 in the fifth.
“I could have won the match for sure,” said Murray, the No. 2 seed and 2012 champion at Flushing Meadows.
The No. 6 seed Nishikori reached a grand slam semifinal for the first time since he was the US Open runner-up two years ago. He faces No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, who ended the resurgent run of 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a quarterfinal that finished past 1am yesterday. The other men’s semifinal is No. 1 Novak Djokovic against No. 10 Gael Monfils.
The last game of two-time slam winner Wawrinka’s victory was delayed while the crowd saluted the popular del Potro, who missed the US Open the past two years because of three operations on his left wrist. As fans stood and applauded, del Potro wiped away tears.
Earlier, Murray acknowledged a brief dip in play after the argument over the let but preferred to focus on other reasons for his exit. “I broke serve enough times. I just didn’t hold serve enough. That was the difference.”
Perhaps.
But Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier and play had continued.
“Exactly the same thing,” he exclaimed. “And I told you.”
Murray also spoke to a tournament supervisor about it, pleading his case and saying, “That’s not fair.”
That same type of noise came from the speakers again at 4-1 in the fourth set. It also had happened during a women’s match on Monday night between Ana Konjuh and Agnieszka Radwanska.
The US Tennis Association said on Wednesday that a “digital audio sound processor” was at fault and would be replaced before the night session.
Despite all the fuss, Murray went ahead 5-4 in the fifth. But he wouldn’t take another game. At 5-all, 30-all, he double-faulted to set up break point, and Nishikori converted by reaching for a stretch volley winner.
Murray slammed his racket against the net and cursed. Soon enough, his career-best run of reaching seven straight tournament finals was done.
He had won 26 of his previous 27 matches, including a second Wimbledon championship and a second Olympic gold medal, beating Nishikori in the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro.
This time, Nishikori came through, helped by a series of effective drop shots and an ability to keep his nerve over the closing three games. “It was too exciting on the court, but I tried to stay calm,” he said.
In the women’s quarterfinals, Serena Williams was broken for the first time in the tournament, and lost a set for the first time, too, but eventually got past No. 5 Simona Halep 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. A year ago in the US Open semifinals, Williams’ bid for a calendar-year grand slam ended with a loss to unseeded Roberta Vinci of Italy.
Today, Williams faces 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who reached the first major semifinal of her career by ousting the 18-year-old Konjuh 6-2, 6-2. The other semifinal is No. 2 Angelique Kerber vs two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.
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