Murray crashes out of US Open

 

Originally published on: 05/09/13 00:00

The world No.3 limped to a disappointing 6-4 6-3 6-2 loss in two hours and 15 minutes in windy conditions at Flushing Meadows.

Wawrinka, who upset Murray in the third round in 2010, has enjoyed his most successful season to date, breaking into the world's top ten in May, and the Swiss is now through to his first Grand Slam semi-final, where he will meet top seed Novak Djokovic.

Murray had reached the last four finals of Grand Slam tournaments he had entered, but he was on the back foot from the outset and failed to earn a single break point in a lacklustre display.

However, it was a brilliant performance by Wawrinka, who fired a remarkable 45 winners in what was arguably the biggest victory of his career.

“It’s amazing for sure – especially here, especially after that match,” Wawrinka said. “Andy is the defending champion. He’s a tough opponent. I’m just really happy. It was a crazy match for me. To beat him in three sets is just amazing.”

There was no such upset in the evening session as Djokovic reached his 14th consecutive major semi-final with a 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-0 victory over No.21 seed Mikhail Youzhny. The 2011 champion conceded his first set of the tournament, but never looked in danger of defeat as he romped through the fourth set in under half-an-hour to seal victory in two hours and 34 minutes.

"For some reason, I allowed him to come back into the match, started to push the ball, [was] being more passive and allowing him to step into the court, come to the net," admitted Djokovic, who is wary of his next opponent, after Wawrinka's impressive result against Murray.

“It’s going to be a very close match for both of us. I think there is really no clear favourite,” he added. “He showed today why he deserves to be in Top 10 of the world. He won in straight sets against the defending champion and he probably played one of his best tennis that I’ve seen him play on hard courts.".

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