Murray was leading by two sets to one and looking comfortable in his quarter-final against Kei Nishikori before suffering a meltdown from which he never fully recovered. “I would put Novak as the favourite, but everyone’s got a chance”. The Brit dug deep and did as he had done in his previous match against Grigor Dimitrov, saving break points in the opening game to hold. The noise during the match between Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori was particurarly bothering, but there was a reason why it happened, as explained by the USTA in its statement released after the match. After the first set, few would have thought this match would morph into a mini-epic.
Advertisement
One thought: Maybe it was a recurrence of the soreness in her right shoulder that became bothersome in the days right after she won singles and doubles titles at Wimbledon two months ago.
AN embrace between two warriors created the “moment of the US Open” as comeback star Juan Martin del Potro broke down in a heartwarming moment on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
After netting a backhand on the replayed point, Murray walked to the umpire and tapped her chair as he argued again.
The phantom noise emerged again later in the set and Murray’s mood was not helped when a startled butterfly flew around the court, causing great merriment when it obstinately clung to the net.
But he lost his rhythm after rain temporarily forced play to halt and allowed the roof to close. The sixth-seed converted with a volley into a wide-open court. At 1-all in the fourth, though, everything changed. “I was just curious as to why that was, and that was it”. Nonetheless, this must be a deeply disappointing defeat for Murray, knowing he had a chance to end the year as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time, had he went on and won the Open.
“Assuming Djokovic sees off a weakened field in Toronto, Murray must surely defeat his nemesis in Cincinnati and then NY if he is to have any chance of capturing the second-ending No 1 spot, with the Olympics potential being key to maintaining momentum”, wrote Tim Clement, of Sky Sports. In a match which featured 17 breaks of serve, Nishikori prevailed for only his second win in nine matches against world No.2 Murray.
Nishikori clinched a dramatic 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 comeback triumph in a shade under four hours against Murray. “There was a lot of time”. Williams’ second double-fault of the game followed, and Halep would need to save five more break points before finally cashing in on her fifth set point to send the match to set No. 3.
Murray will have plenty to play for in the coming weeks.
And she did, crushing some returns on her way to 3-1 lead.
Advertisement
That decision continued to anger him in the next game as he lashed at a few shots as the Brit was broken for the fifth time in the match, losing eight of the last 10 points as he fell 3-1 behind. I lost my serve a couple of times from positions that when I was up in the game. Nishikori had no problems closing out a fairly easy set for the former finalist, holding to love to take it 6-1. He promptly served out for the set. Trailing 2-0 and locked in at 30-30 on serve the danger signs were flashing, but the Brit dug deep, demonstrating his champion mentality and qualities as he held serve and broke back after Nishikori put a forehand long.
