Andy Murray was in danger of experiencing his earliest exit from a major tournament this year.
Advertisement
Murray vs Dimitrov is set to begin at 7 p.m. local time (12 a.m. BST, 4.30 a.m. IST next day).
But more than in any other match in NY, there was a steel in Murray’s demeanour right from the first point. Time and again he made improbable returns before profiting from Murray’s impatience.
“He’s an extremely solid player and doesn’t give you many cheap points”.
But this was the kind of authoritative display which Murray needed to regain the momentum lost in his two previous matches and put his US Open campaign right back on track.
As it also happens, Dimitrov recently joined up with coach Dani Vallverdu, who used to work with Murray. Here is a different surface than Wimbledon, so my slices doesn’t go too well as I did in Wimbledon.
Lorenzi again failed to serve for the set, but this time Murray was unable to force the tiebreak. “It’s simple as that”, Dimitrov said.
“Have I ever lost in practice?”
“Just doing what I have to do, being able to dominate when I need to”, said Venus, who could face Serena in the semi-final. “Grigor has been playing well the last few weeks”. And he had scored three wins over Murray in the past, including their last in Miami.
Murray is aiming to end 2016 with more silverware following a sensational year which has seen him land Wimbledon and Olympic titles for a second time, as well as reaching the Australian and French Open finals.
Murray won eight games in a row, dropped serve for the first time, then immediately restored his double break advantage in the second set.
Murray wasn’t at his best against Italian Paolo Lorenzi on Saturday but got the job done in four sets.
Murray, the 2012 champion, was back in black and in red-hot form on Arthur Ashe Stadium as he crushed winners from all angles.
Serena Williams sealed a record 308th Grand Slam win over Yaroslava Shvedova. Overall, however, he has won six of their nine meetings.
But the World No 2, who faces risky Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the quarter finals on Monday, insists he gets just as much out of working with the younger British hopefuls as they get from playing and practising with him.
The 142nd-ranked del Potro has been willed along by fans in NY who fondly remember his 2009 title and respect his comeback from three left wrist surgeries.
Eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem overcame a shaky start Saturday to secure a spot in the fourth round of the U.S. Open. Since then, the 25-year-old has gone 10-3, racking up impressive wins over Ivo Karlovic, Feliciano Lopez, Stan Wawrinka, and Steve Johnson in the process.
Suarez Navarro, seeded 11th, was seeking the sixth Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career.
Sixth-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan, two years removed from his run to the final, rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over France’s Nicolas Mahut.
Advertisement
Croatian teenager Ana Konjuh upset number four seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-4. Del Potro recalled in his on-court interview after the match how sad he was to watch the U.S. Open on TV, stuck at home the last two years.
