Murray sent packing by Wawrinka magic
Print Edition
Andy Murray’s first attempt to defend a grand slam title ended on Thursday as he bowed out quickly, if not quietly, in the US Open quarterfinals, losing 4-6, 3-6, 2-6 to Stanislas Wawrinka.
Two months on from his drought-breaking victory for British men at Wimbledon, the Scot was no match for the Swiss in a surprisingly one-sided encounter at Flushing Meadows.
Wawrinka’s semifinal opponent will be top seed Novak Djokovic, who overcame a third-set wobble with an authoritative final frame to beat Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0.
It is the 14th consecutive grand slam tournament in which Serbia’s Djokovic has made it to the semifinals. Roger Federer holds the record with 23.
The other semifinal is Rafael Nadal against Richard Gasquet.
Murray managed only 15 winners, 30 fewer than Wawrinka. He tapped in some very slow second serves which allowed the Swiss to hit four return winners and easily take control of many other points. Murray, one of the sport’s top returners, never earned a single break point.
“I have had a good run the last couple of years,” Murray said. “It’s a shame I had to play a bad match today.”
At age 28, Wawrinka finally made it further at a major tournament than his Swiss Olympic teammate and good friend Federer, who lost in the fourth round and sent a congratulatory text to Wawrinka after his breakthrough victory.
“Today, for sure, it’s my moment,” Wawrinka said.
Asked what part of his performance made him the most proud, Wawrinka said: “How I was dealing with the pressure. Normally, I can be a little bit nervous and I can lose (a) few games because of that.”
Murray was frustrated at his own errors in the 22-point final game of the first set, with muttering, eye-rolling and slaps to the forehead eventually giving way to some unbridled racket abuse.
The second set slipped away even faster, with Murray hanging his head after a forehand into the net closed a 12-point and three-game run for Wawrinka that made it 5-2.
At the end of that second set, he shook his hands in front of his face and screamed, infuriated by his own errors and inability to match what he perceives is unrealistically high expectations.
“If I’m meant to win every grand slam I play or be in the final, it’s just very, very difficult just now,” said Murray.
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