Murray makes a shock exit, Federer cruises
Source: Agencies |
August 18, 2012, Saturday
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OLYMPIC gold medalist Andy Murray was brought back to earth on Thursday with a surprise defeat to unseeded Jeremy Chardy at the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
While his regular rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals, Murray lost 6-4, 6-4 to Chardy, an opponent he'd beaten easily the four previous times they'd played. The Scot had trouble controlling his shots on a breezy, hot afternoon.
"I was a little bit uncomfortable with those balls bouncing extremely high," said Murray. "It was fairly hard to control."
Murray won a gold medal at the Olympics by beating Federer. He went to Toronto last week hoping to get in shape for the hardcourt season, but had to withdraw from the Rogers Cup with a minor knee injury.
Now, Murray heads to New York for the US Open, having played only three matches on hard courts since returning from Wimbledon's grass.
"I won't play any more matches," Murray said. "When going into the big tournaments, sometimes I've won tournaments in the buildup and it hasn't helped me. This year at Wimbledon, I lost in the first round at Queen's and made the final there for the first time. I have won Queen's before and not done well at Wimbledon.
"So it doesn't normally have that much bearing. But I would have liked to have done a bit better this week."
Chardy got into the tournament as a replacement for John Isner, who had a sore back. The Frenchman won his opener over Andy Roddick, who developed back spasms during the match on Tuesday.
Chardy is the first injury replacement to reach an ATP Tour quarterfinal this season.
Federer beat Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-4 and has looked sharp in his two hard-court matches. Federer skipped the Rogers Cup last week.
Djokovic was on the court for only 30 minutes in the evening. Russia's Nikolay Davydenko quit after losing the first set 0-6, bothered by a sore right shoulder. He called the trainer, then decided not to continue.
Davydenko warmed up fine, but his serve quickly deteriorated. He had eight double faults, made 16 unforced errors and won only 16 points.
On the women's side, top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska overcame an unexpected challenge from wildcard Sloane Stephens before winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Radwanska, who lost to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final, reached the tournament's quarterfinal for the first time in three appearances.
Former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, the fourth seed, advanced over China's Peng Shuai, 6-2, 6-2.
Serena Williams won her 19th straight match - her last 12 in straight sets - by beating Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-3. Williams hasn't lost a set since the Wimbledon final.
Venus Williams beat Sara Errani 6-3, 6-0.
While his regular rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals, Murray lost 6-4, 6-4 to Chardy, an opponent he'd beaten easily the four previous times they'd played. The Scot had trouble controlling his shots on a breezy, hot afternoon.
"I was a little bit uncomfortable with those balls bouncing extremely high," said Murray. "It was fairly hard to control."
Murray won a gold medal at the Olympics by beating Federer. He went to Toronto last week hoping to get in shape for the hardcourt season, but had to withdraw from the Rogers Cup with a minor knee injury.
Now, Murray heads to New York for the US Open, having played only three matches on hard courts since returning from Wimbledon's grass.
"I won't play any more matches," Murray said. "When going into the big tournaments, sometimes I've won tournaments in the buildup and it hasn't helped me. This year at Wimbledon, I lost in the first round at Queen's and made the final there for the first time. I have won Queen's before and not done well at Wimbledon.
"So it doesn't normally have that much bearing. But I would have liked to have done a bit better this week."
Chardy got into the tournament as a replacement for John Isner, who had a sore back. The Frenchman won his opener over Andy Roddick, who developed back spasms during the match on Tuesday.
Chardy is the first injury replacement to reach an ATP Tour quarterfinal this season.
Federer beat Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-4 and has looked sharp in his two hard-court matches. Federer skipped the Rogers Cup last week.
Djokovic was on the court for only 30 minutes in the evening. Russia's Nikolay Davydenko quit after losing the first set 0-6, bothered by a sore right shoulder. He called the trainer, then decided not to continue.
Davydenko warmed up fine, but his serve quickly deteriorated. He had eight double faults, made 16 unforced errors and won only 16 points.
On the women's side, top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska overcame an unexpected challenge from wildcard Sloane Stephens before winning 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Radwanska, who lost to Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final, reached the tournament's quarterfinal for the first time in three appearances.
Former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, the fourth seed, advanced over China's Peng Shuai, 6-2, 6-2.
Serena Williams won her 19th straight match - her last 12 in straight sets - by beating Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-4, 6-3. Williams hasn't lost a set since the Wimbledon final.
Venus Williams beat Sara Errani 6-3, 6-0.
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