“They stopped the point and I was just curious why that was and that was it”, Murray said afterwards.
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MEN’S RESULTS (Quarterfinals): No. 6 Kei Nishikori reached his second U.S. Open semifinal, outlasting No. 2 Andy Murray in five sets.
The Japanese next will now face No. 3 seed Stan Wawrinka, who defeated Juan Martin del Potro in four sets 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-3 6-2.
Friday night sees the women’s semi-finals take place. As fans stood and applauded, del Potro wiped away tears.
It proved to be brief respite for Murray, though, as Nishikori fired a victor down the left to regain the advantage, but a match of twists and turns had another twist – and turn – to come.
“I’ll need to be smart the next few days to make sure that not only physically I recover, but mentally as well, because it’s always a stressful few days”. “That was the difference”.
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. “So many simple, simple shots that I easily could have made”, Williams said. “So I think I wasn’t at 100 percent, but I also think she played well”.
That same type of noise came from the Arthur Ashe Stadium speakers again at 4-1 in the fourth set.
U.S. Open officials later released a statement saying the sound was from a digital audio sound processor that malfunctioned.
However, this was just his second defeat since losing in the French Open final back in June, the 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 scoreline perhaps suggesting this was, perhaps, a match too far. But he wouldn’t take another game.
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. “Juan Martin’s an incredible player”, said Wawrinka.
After a pause for the roof to be closed, Nishikori levelled matters as Murray found the net following a long rally.
But he is enjoying one of the best spells of his career, winning the title in Washington and making the semi-finals at the Toronto Masters where he lost to Djokovic again.
“I’m glad I got tested”, Williams said.
In a match which featured 17 breaks of serve, Nishikori prevailed for only his second win in nine matches against the world number two.
Well, I mean, I tried to stay calm and I try not to do too many up and downs, especially my mental side.
Wawrinka, who had to save a match point in his third-round clash with Dan Evans, is playing in a third US Open semi-final in four years. She will be overtaken on Monday by current No. 2 Angelique Kerber, who was to face Caroline Wozniacki in Thursday’s second semifinal.
Andy Murray was in complete control in the early part of his quarterfinal match at the US Open Wednesday, cruising to a win in the first set.
For lack of a better term, Nishikori out-Murrayed Murray, mixing finesse and power that kept Murray on the run, disrupting his rhythm.
“Asking me right now is pointless”, he said. “I have won a lot over the last few months, but I couldn’t quite get it going my way this time”. And he had the ideal start, dictating play to race into a set and a break lead.
The players traded blows at the start of the second set, with Nishikori showing increased attacking intent, before a brief rain break at 3-3. It showed when he took leads and Nishikori broke straight back. Though the drizzle passed quickly, the air inside the bubble stilled and the ball slowed, nullifying Murray’s power advantage in the serve. His coach, eight-time major champion Ivan Lendl, did not exactly mirror that celebratory mood, sitting with chin on hand up in the guest box.
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In his post-match press conference, Murray told reporters,”I have not let anyone down”. At 1-all in the fourth, though, everything changed.
