In the women’s quarterfinals, Williams not only was broken for the first time in the tournament but lost a set for the first time as well, even though she topped Halep.
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The double Grand Slam victor ended a rousing fightback by the Argentine to finally progress 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the early hours of Thursday at New Yorks Flushing Meadows.
Kei Nishikori stunned Andy Murray to reach the US Open semi-finals on Wednesday, holding his nerve in a breathtaking final set to move two wins away from becoming the first Asian man to capture a Grand Slam singles title. “I fought as hard as I could with what I had today”, he said.
“I haven’t played against many big servers recently but she places her serve really well”. Well, I mean, I tried to stay calm and I try not to do too many up and downs, especially my mental side.
“After the rain delay I think I was more focused and started playing better tennis, so I was getting more confidence”.
Del Potro won just 6 total points on his second serve the last two sets while Wawrinka lost just 3 points over that span on his first serve. Otherwise, Halep said, “The story of the match would have been different”.
“Definitely. My concentration went off”, Nishikori said.
Not bad for someone who entered the U.S. Open with questions about a sore right shoulder that began bothering her after she won Wimbledon in July. “I think this is a great opportunity for me and I’m so happy to go to the semifinals”.
But, ultimately, external factors got the better of him.
Serena Williams continued on her quest for a 23 Grand Slam title with victory over Simona Halep to reach the semi-finals.
Today, Williams faces 10th-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic, who reached the first major semifinal of her career by eliminating the 18-year-old Konjuh 6-2, 6-2.
Williams, who clutched at her left leg between points in the second set, double-faulted to end it. She will be overtaken on Monday by current No. 2 Angelique Kerber, who was to face Caroline Wozniacki in Thursday’s second semifinal.
Murray also carried on a long-running monologue over what he saw as the injustice of having the crucial break point at 1-1 in the fourth set replayed when the faulty sound system blasted out a brief gong-like sound.
Murray complained about the ruling right away, gave away the next three points to lose the game, then brought it up again with Cicak at the ensuing changeover, saying something similar had happened earlier without a re-do of the point.
Murray has eight days to recuperate ahead of the contest in Glasgow and says he will have to make the most of his time off. I broke serve enough times.
He also spoke to a tournament supervisor about it, pleading his case and saying, Thats not fair..
The Scot led by a set to love and two sets to one, but lost his cool completely at the start of the fourth set as the umpire ruled against him at 1-1 and Murray break point down.
That same type of noise came from the speakers again at 4-1 in the fourth set.
Despite all the fuss, Murray eventually seemed to recover, breaking back and taking three games in a row to lead 5-4 in the fifth.
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Kei Nishikori, of Japan, reacts during his match with Andy Murray, of the United Kingdom, during the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in NY. Tied at 5-5 with Murray serving, Nishikori scored another break and then served out the match in the 12th game.
