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Andy Murray reaches US Open fourth round with defeat of Andrey Kuznetsov Andy Murray reaches US Open fourth round with defeat of Andrey Kuznetsov
(about 1 hour later)
If Andy Murray reaches the quarter-finals of the 2014 US Open, he should pray he does not meet Novak Djokovic there because, on their performances in the third round on day six, the Scot’s chances of going any further are nowhere near as good as the Serb’s. If Andy Murray reaches the quarter-finals of the US Open he should pray he does not meet Novak Djokovic there because, on their performances in the third round, the Scot’s chances of going any further are nowhere near as good as the Serb’s.
For the second time in six days, Murray flirted with disaster in the Louis Armstrong Stadium he has come to fear and loathe over the years before outlasting the determined if limited world No96, Andrey Kuznetsov, 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. For the second time in six days, Murray flirted with disaster in the Louis Armstrong Stadium he has come to loathe before outlasting the determined world No96 Andrey Kuznetsov 6-1, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2. Three of Murray’s five double faults handed the Russian breaks, one costing him the third set.
Djokovic, meanwhile, strolled into the fourth round, beating the unseeded American Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on the bigger stage of the Arthur Ashe Court to confirm he is back to his best after a recent dip in form and focus. The comfortable win followed his destruction of Paul-Henri Mathieu, who could take only four games off the world No 1 in the second round. “I have a good feeling about myself,” Djokovic said later. He took encouragement, though, from the continued development of his close-quarter attacking game, where he won 29 of 33 points at the net. “I won most of my points up at the net the other night with Matthias Bachinger,” he said. “Today I thought I came in at the right times and won most of the points up there, especially the first couple of sets. I didn’t come in as much in the third and fourth sets. But in the beginning I came in well.”
Murray, who was near flawless beating Matthias Bachinger on Thursday night but way short of that form on Saturday , said, “I got off to a good start. He played some good stuff at end of the second set and all the way through the third. I tried to stay solid in the fourth.” Djokovic, meanwhile, strolled into the fourth round, beating the unseeded American Sam Querrey 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 on the bigger stage of the Arthur Ashe Court to confirm he is back to his best after a recent dip in form and focus. The comfortable win followed his destruction of Paul-Henri Mathieu, who could take only four games off the world No1 in the second round. “I have a good feeling about myself,” Djokovic said later.
If Murray had one wish, it would surely be that the dynamite the United States Tennis Association intend to put under Armstrong before rebuilding it with a retractable roof in time for 2018 arrive as soon as possible. Murray has never been one to duck the media, although he could have done without a near collision with a TV cameraman in the fourth set which substantiated his view that this is not the roomiest court in tennis.
Stanislas Wawrinka beat him here in 2010, he had desperate battles in the same claustrophobic setting against Robin Haase in 2011, as well as tough wins over Feliciano López and Marin Cilic in 2012. Then five days ago, he almost blew a two-set lead against Haase as cramp raced through his body in the third and fourth sets. He voiced his displeasure at the time but insisted later: “I certainly wasn’t cross. I was just making a point. I almost ran with my knee straight into the camera at the back of the court. If I was a spectator, and a player had to stop because he got hit by a camera that was too close to the back of the court, then I would be annoyed if I was watching that. You certainly wouldn’t get that on Ashe because there’s much bigger runback.”
“I feel better than I did in the first match,” Murray said. “My preparation was good I ate properly, drank properly.” But there was something missing from his game, a certain rage or vitality that had defined his growth under Ivan Lendl. His concentration wandered on key points and it was not until near the end of the two hours and 35 minutes of the match that he regained his earlier sharpness. And he admitted that Armstrong comes with baggage. Stanislas Wawrinka beat him here in 2010, he had desperate battles in the same claustrophobic setting against Robin Haase in 2011, as well as tough wins over Feliciano López and Marin Cilic in 2012. Then five days ago, he almost blew a two-set lead against Haase as cramp raced through his body in the third and fourth sets. “I’ve had a couple of bad experiences there, obviously. Monday was not a great experience. That’s hard to put out of your mind.”
He could not blame the court, however, for 47 unforced errors and some indifferent serving. Against a better opponent, he surely would have been on his way home. Three double faults cost him breaks, the third of them cost him the third set. So he will be hoping the TV executives and the USTA bosses will not condemn him to another session on a court that clearly doesn’t suit his expansive, running defensive game. Wherever he plays, he sees his next opponent, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, as a bigger problem than the arena they play in. The Frenchman looked fit and strong in beating Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The lightness he seemed to have acquired in recent months under his new coach Amélie Mauresmo has dimmed a little. Still, on a warm, slightly breezy day on the Labour Day cusp of the American autumn, he started confidently against Kuznetsov, the 2009 Wimbledon boys champion who hit a peak at SW19 this summer when he beat David Ferrer over five sets only to fall in the next round against Leonardo Mayer. Here he took three hours and 12 minutes to get past Fernando Verdasco – and then ran into Murray. “He’s playing well,” Murray said. “He had a great week in Canada [where he won the Rogers Cup this month], played some good tennis so far here. It will be a tough match. I was up a break in the third set [against Tsonga in Canada] and didn’t manage to close it out. So if I get myself in that position again, hopefully I’ll do a bit better, but I don’t need to change too much.”
Nerves struck the 23-year-old Russian early and he was a break down within five minutes. This was the sort of start Murray had against Haase in Monday’s killing heat but conditions on Saturday were milder, the thermometer closer to the mid 70s than the high 80s. Murray tiptoed around a suggestion by an American journalist that his new coach, Amélie Mauresmo, had been advised not to read the British press, but said of the coverage since she succeeded Ivan Lendl: “I don’t think it’s affected it at all. The first few days were definitely different. Obviously the time of the year [Wimbledon] was always going to be tricky. But, after [that] and certainly when we got away from Wimbledon, we were able to have some privacy, spend a couple of weeks together in Miami. I haven’t read much about it since Wimbledon. It’s been going well – from my side anyway. I’ve enjoyed it.”
Kuznetsov continued to go for his shots but, at a little over 70kg (11st) and standing 6ft 1in, he was a light-middleweight to Murray’s cruiser and pushed a concluding limp forehand into the net to hand him the first set after half an hour. He also pointed out it was too early to see the results of the change. “It takes longer than just a couple months. I said the same thing with Ivan, as well. I think it takes five, six months before you can really change much.”
After an hour Murray was a set and 4-3 up and all was well with the world. He then served his first double fault of the match to surrender his serve in the eighth game and Kuznetsov, who had stuck doggedly to his assignment, was briefly encouraged to believe he might get back into the match. He knew there was retribution to come, as Murray held, broke then served out the with the help of a third ace, but there were worrying crack’s in his tennis. Their immediate challenge is for Murray to find some consistency, to break that mindset that prevents him closing out matches without fuss. As well as blowing that lead against Tsonga in Toronto, he led Roger Federer in Cincinnati two weeks ago and lost – as he did against Rafael Nadal in Rome earlier in the year – and here he gave Kuznetsov false hope.
Behind in the serving cycle, Murray hit a fourth double fault and shoved an anaemic forehand into the bottom of the net to hand Kuznetsov a break for 3-1. For the third time, Murray handed Kuznetzov a break with a double fault – and this time it cost him the third set. He cannot afford to do that in the second week of a slam – especially against players clearly as wired up again as Tsonga and Djokovic. It’s going to be a tough week and he probably wouldn’t have it any other way.
Murray’s tennis was fraying at the edges in the fourth but he broke twice for 4-1, dropped serve for 4-2, had two break points in the seventh game and was thankful for a dumped backhand by Kuznetsov for 5-2.
Serving for the match, Murray rushed to the net and confidently patted away a backhand volley – then looked to the skies as if he had been let out of Sing Sing.