Andy Murray falls to Novak Djokovic in US Open quarter-final
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Version 0 of 1. Separated by seven days of life on the planet, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic for much of last night’s quarter-final resided in their own world, and it was the Serb who prevailed in a fight nearly as intense as their final on the same court two years ago. Both squandered chances and rescued lost causes throughout the three hours and 32 minutes they held a Murray-friendly house enthralled on Arthur Ashe court, which takes on the appearance and feel of a bear pit in matches such as this one. Djokovic won 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (1-7), 6-2, 6-4 and meets Japan’s Kei Nishikori for the right to go through to Monday’s final, but had Murray been able to sustain the quite terrifying power he injected into his flat forehand in the second and third sets, he would be staying a little longer in New York. But the world No 1, who has been in splendid form all tournament, after a brief dip in form and spirits after winning Wimbledon, deserved his win. He fought hard through some rough patches and found a little extra at the finish, when Murray began to tire. “We both gave our best,” Djokovic said courtside. “At times it was not that nice, a lot of unforced errors (48 for the winner, 64 for Murray), but it was a very physical battle. I didn’t expect anything less. The last five times we played we went over three or four hours.” On Murray’s wicked forehand, which at times resembled a Wladimir Klitschko right cross, and his all-round power and aggression, Djokovic said, “He has changed his game for the better in the past couple of years, working with Ivan [Lendl]. He has immense quality on any surface. We played a five-set match here a couple of years ago and I knew he was going to go for his shots - and that the more aggressive one was going to win it.” As for how he might prepare for Nishikori, he observed, “My thoughts are just directed to sleeping – or what do you say, let’s party!” which the dregs of the capacity crowd greeted with approval at gone 1am. “No, I think my coach would chase me with a baseball bat if I did. We haven’t played against each other for a while, but he is a very talented player, serves very well for his height.” Murray was predictably downcast later and, in a hushed voice, conceded, “I’d say definitely physically he was fresher, Well, he appeared fresher than me. Whether he was or not I don’t know; maybe he does a better job of hiding it than me. Towards the end I tried to hang in as best I could. The pace of my serve slowed significantly towards the end of the third set.” He added: “But I played well. Especially in the first couple of sets, there was some good tennis. I was down in the first set and I fought back, although I played a poor tie-break. I was down in the second set and a break and I fought back. So I fought hard - but it wasn’t enough.” The first set was ragged and tight, with Murray the less consistent at key moments, and he pretty much fell apart in the tie-break. The second set was a mirror image of the first, with Djokovic this time succumbing to the onslaught of Murray’s rapier forehand that shot after shot landed hard, low and deep. The third was closer than the score suggests, although there were signs that Murray’s concentration was beginning to dip. At two-all in the fourth on Djokovic’s serve, Murray asked the umpire to call for the trainer, an unusual request in running play – only to put on an undershirt. Moments later, he took delivery of a heat pack to place on his lower back on the changeover. The fight was taking its toll in familiar places. Behind in the serving circle, Murray held his nerve, showing no obvious discomfort as he drew level in the eighth game, which he held to love for only the third time in the match. Trailing by a set, he could not afford to let his level dip against one of the most ruthless finishers in tennis; perhaps, also, he had to fight subliminal thoughts of settling for a second straight impressive showing against a top 10 player, having seen off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round to break that streak against his peers since he won Wimbledon. More likely, his phenomenal thirst for a win began to swell, as it did when he ground Djokovic into the court for his breakthrough slam win here in 2012. That night, a swirling wind accompanied his path to victory; for the first time in this tournament, their match last night was played out in the still of the night. However, serving to stay in the tournament at 4-5, Murray paused on his first ball-toss as some comedian let his evening’s beverage intake get to him interject with some childish heckling. Murray lost the point. Djokovic then worked him over on the backhand like a surgeon to move within two points of his eighth successive semi-final here. When Murray hit long to hand Djokovic two match points the tension rose appreciably – and the joker in the crowd surfaced again. After a botched first serve, he got the ball in play but his final effort was a backhand that drifted into the net, and it was done. John McEnroe was tough on Murray afterwards, pointing out that too often “things happen” in his matches when he loses. “I’m not saying he was looking for excuses,” he added, when that was exactly what he was saying. Murray said he was not overly concerned about missing the end-of-season ATP World Tour Finals, suggesting rest might be a priority. “To be honest, it was not a massive goal of mine,” he said. “It’s obviously nice to qualify for it. It’s a good tournament. I played a number of years and enjoyed it. But I don’t want to overplay. I’ll play the right schedule. I’ll likely play a tournament before Shanghai. I’m not sure exactly which one yet.” Earlier, Nishikori scored an extraordinary five-set win over Stanislas Wawrinka in the first of the men’s quarter-finals – just a day after finishing a five-setter at nearly 2.30am against Milos Raonic. Wawrinka, the Australian Open champion and seeded three here, had chances to burn – and duly set them alight, his final forehand handing the Japanese his first slam semi-final with a 3-6, 7-5. 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win that he will do well to recuperate quickly from. But he has lived up to his reputation here as one of the finest all-round players in the game. He will still be tough for even a prime Djokovic to beat. In the slightly delayed first night match, Serena Williams started like a three-wheel rollerskate and finished like a train to beat Flavia Pennetta 6-3, 5-2 in a couple of ticks over an hour. The Italian won the first three games before the reigning champion found her rhythm, shrugging off the effects of a turned ankle in her lost doubles match the day before, and pretty much blew the 11th seed off the court. |