An impressive streak of 18 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments quarterfinals ended as Andy Murray lost to Kevin Anderson in the fourth round of the US Open, but it shouldn’t be that surprising when he’s played more matches this season than anyone on tour. “Obviously that’s many years of hard work that has gone into building that sort of consistency”, Murray said of the run in which he made at least the quarterfinals in 18 successive Grand Slams. “To lose that is tough”, Murray was quoted as saying by bbc.com on Monday. Also to lose a match that was played for over four hours, a tough one obviously, after a couple of tough matches earlier in the tournament as well.
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The Murray scalp is a big achievement for Anderson, who’s now reached quarter-finals at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
“He (Anderson) is an excellent player”. “This is a great accomplishment for me“.
Murray, seeded third, went into the match with a 5-1 win-loss record against Anderson but was playing catch-up from the moment the 6ft 8in South African saved three break points in game four.
The 6-foot-8 Anderson, in his first major quarterfinal, will face two-time major champion, Stan Wawrinka, who eliminated 68th-ranked American Donald Young, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Federer, seeded second, defeated local favourite John Isner 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), 7-5 on Monday and reached the last eight stage of the US Open for the 11th time.
“To do it here in New York feels awesome”.
“That was definitely on my mind quite a bit”, Anderson said.
Murray fell behind two sets and a break, roared back, but ultimately could not win the tension-packed encounter at Louis Armstrong Stadium. You get a lot of wind.
“I think I served very well, which obviously helped me a lot in the fourth set, especially serving first and being up each game”, Anderson said.
According to the BBC, Murray “smashed his racquet” at one moment (giving what remained of it to a spectator) and also argued with an umpire. “I played really well after”.
Konta, ranked 97th in the world, had defied all expectations to reach the fourth round, beating seeds Garbine Muguruza and Andrea Petkovic along the way, but Kvitova proved a step too far as the Czech won 7-5 6-3.
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Both players held their serves in the match except for the second set during which Anderson broke Murray twice to clinch it 6-3 and take a 2-0 lead in the match. I’m still improving. My desire is still there. “I guess I had a little childhood dream come true, so that’s pretty special”.
