After his loss to Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals of the US Open, Murray was not exactly cracking jokes or sounding full of beans, but his very first words at his post-match press conference seemed a fair indication of his mood.
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Twice grand slam victor Wawrinka ended the rousing comeback effort by the Argentine at Flushing Meadows with a 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-3 6-2 win to close out Day 10 at the year’s last grand slam.
Two-time major champion Stan Wawrinka is determined to end his wait to feature in a first US Open final this week.
“I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and I’m very proud of how I have done”, said Murray.
The real contest began in the second set as Nishikori’s service game improved and he started to rein in the mistakes. So what I gather from that is I really could have played better in that second set and maybe had an opportunity to win in straights.
“It was an awesome match for me, one of my toughest matches, mentally and physically against Juan Martin”, Wawrinka said in an on-court interview.
A double fault from Murray handed Nishikori a break point that was duly converted to the fury of the Wimbledon champion, and the 26-year-old held serve to wrap up a memorable win.
“But we talked a lot of things during the rain delay, and I tried to change something”.
It was too exciting on the court, but I tried to stay calm, he said.
“I just didn’t hold serve enough”, said Murray, who was broken nine times.
In the women’s competition, world No.1 Serena Williams fended off a spirited Simona Halep, downing the fifth-seeded Romanian 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.
She finished with 18 aces.
Karolina Pliskova dominated with her serve to roll past 18-year-old Ana Konjuh and into the U.S. Open semifinals.
Nishikori trailed one-set to love and two-sets to one, but won the final two to win 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
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.
The fifth and final set started with three straight breaks of serve.
Nishikori, the 2014 runner-up, stunned world No.2 Andy Murray earlier on Wednesday 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-1 7-5.
The No. 6 seed Nishikori reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time since he was the U.S. Open runner-up two years ago.
Umpire Marija Cicak ordered the point to be replayed much to the irritation of Murray who lost his composure and the next seven games.
“We were told at the beginning of the event and also today that if the weather is good they will open the roof during the match”, Murray said.
This is a great opportunity for me, to come in the semi-final here again.
Later the tournament said a faulty digital audio sound processor was to blame and would be replaced prior to Wednesday’s night session.
Nishikori surrendered the advantage again, giving up a 40-0 lead in the eighth game and missing an easy volley as Murray came back for 4-4.
His momentum stalled dramatically early in the fourth set when he was seemingly in charge of a rally on break point, only for the stadium sound system to halt him.
The second-ranked Murray dropped seven consecutive games after a let call caused by a loud noise from the malfunctioning equipment during a fourth-set point and lost to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Wednesday.
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The other men’s semi-final will pit No. 1 Novak Djokovic against 10th-seeded Gael Monfils of France.
