With serves regularly nudging the 140mph mark backed up by thunderous groundstrokes, Murray surged into a 6-1 3-0 lead, and even when Dimitrov finally stopped the rot with a service break, he returned it immediately with a double fault. Just because you play badly a couple of days ago didn’t mean I was going to play badly tonight.
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“I served one at 145mph in San Jose once but the next day they recalibrated the gun because it was completely wrong”, he said. Reports said that Murray should not write off Nishikori just yet, because he has become a tougher and more challenging opponent. Murray said he got a “little lucky” with that one, and didn’t expect to do it again.
Japanese 26-year-old fourth seed Kei Nishikori won in three sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 against twenty-first seeded Croatian Ivo Karlovic.
Karlovic fired 21 aces in the contest, but Nishikori’s 44 winners and a miserly seven unforced errors proved the key. I tried my best. He has won this title but I played a really good match against him at the Olympics and I will have to do the same again.
The British No 1 had been out of sorts in the previous round, when he had to battle past Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, and it seemed fatigue might be catching up with him at the last grand slam of the season. “It was really tough”, said Nishikori after reaching only his second Slam semi-final after his runner-up spot in NY in 2014. I’m doing in a good way because I’m playing good tennis.
Del Potro made it to the last eight after Thiem was forced to retire due to injury.
Things came undone for the Scot at the start of the fourth set, when an equipment malfunction caused a loud gong sound in the middle of play.
In the other semifinal, France selected Gael Monfils and rising star Lucas Pouille to play against Croatia next week.
“He plays well in NY”. Although he had his doubts over his new record serve. He was a semifinalist in 2005, 2006 and 2014.
And this is their first meeting on hardcourts but that should only help the Argentine. ‘I played very well. It’s an unbelievable court to play on and a fantastic atmosphere all the time.
“Obviously”, Dimitrov said, “today I ran out of fuel, I think, physically and mentally”. “He beat me this year at Wimbledon”.
The duo have faced each other eight times in the ATP tour and Grand Slam events, with Murray winning seven of those encounters.
It is the third quarterfinal in NY for Monfils, who turned 30 on September 1.
Wawrinka faces 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who beat him at Wimbledon this year.
The giant Argentinian, the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist in 25 years, has a 4-2 head-to-head record over the Swiss, including an impressive victory at Wimbledon earlier this year.
However, the two have never met on hard courts.
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Del Potro will face fellow Grand Slam title victor Stan Wawrinka for a semifinal spot.
