MURRAY’S POSITIVE SPIN
Scot takes brutal beating but says hip was pain free
EVEN by the modern means of staring down the barrel of a Zoom at Andy Murray it was easy to tell that he was not happy.
After being comprehensively dismantled by 20-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime in the US Open second round he sat before a camera in the virtual interview room of Flushing Meadows, exuding a sense of hurt pride. His 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 defeat had been the first time since 2006 that he had lost in straight sets in the first week of a Grand Slam.
For all of Murray’s reduced state, exacerbated by having played such a marathon first round, it was clearly not a comfortable feeling, which is perhaps a positive sign as he moves into the final phase of his career.
The sting of not managing to force a single break point will have been particularly painful, against an opponent whose serve he had picked out as a potential weakness before the match. Mixed in with the annoyance at himself was also a hint of resignation.
‘I might as well shoot for the stars,’ said Murray. ‘And if I don’t get there, then that’s all right. But I’m trying my best to get the most out of what my body gives me now.’
He did not indulge in the diversionary tactic of praising his young conqueror to the hilt, although he would have been justified in extolling just what an outstanding prospect 6ft 4in Auger-Aliassime is.
Murray certainly did not go as far as the interpretation of Greg Rusedski, who like AugerAliassime spent his formative years in Quebec. Commenting on Amazon Prime, the former British No 1 said: ‘If he can continue this sort of tennis for the rest of the tournament he could win it.’
That might be pushing it, as the world No 21 will get more of a physical challenge from other opponents. Yet at times he was almost unplayable, reducing Murray to a spectator with winners off his serve and forehand.
That the 33-year-old Scot is playing at all is a triumph, but he will not be wanting to make up the numbers when it comes to the majors.
It could well be, however, that the biggest impact he makes for what is left of his career will be in the best-of-three format of the Masters tournament level. The exception would be Wimbledon, where matches are less of a grind and his skills on grass should remain superior to those of so many other players.
The reality is that, even without his well-documented hip problems, he is of a relatively advanced age. His body type is different from that with which his direct contemporary Novak Djokovic has been blessed, a wiry frame that should support him to a few more major titles.
Murray said that, despite the heavy defeat, he was departing the New York bubble with a sense of encouragement.
‘Even after tonight I’m more positive about what I could do in Grand Slams than I was before I came over here. I played a couple of tough matches in the Western and Southern Open, and I played certainly one very tough match here, and my right hip felt good. That’s really, really positive.’
He now plans to ease himself on to the clay, playing on it for the first time since 2017. He will go straight to the French Open, rather than attempt one of the lead-up events that have been added to the calendar, for its scheduled September 27 start.
Lesson one for Paris will be to try to avoid the ponderous start and sapping first-round match that was such compelling viewing, but sealed his fate in New York. This will be easier said than done.
Murray’s British compatriot Dan Evans also bowed out, losing in his delayed second-round match against 77th-ranked Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
The contest resumed yesterday after rain brought a premature end to play on Thursday, but Evans suffered a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (5) 7-6 (1) loss to 21-year-old Moutet.
Seventh seed David Goffin was made to work hard by Serbian Filip Krajinovic before clinching a 6-1 7-6 (5) 6-4 win, moving into the fourth round for the fourth consecutive year at Flushing Meadows. The Belgian stormed out of the blocks to convert three break point opportunities in the opening set as Krajinovic struggled for control on his second serve.
Both players converted two break points each in a seesaw second set before Goffin edged the tiebreak to claim a two-set advantage.
After taking an early lead in the third set, Goffin was again pegged back by 26th seed Krajinovic but the world No10 prevailed with a decisive break in the 10th game to seal victory.
Meanwhile, title favourite Naomi Osaka survived a scare against Ukrainian teenager Marta Kostyuk to reach the fourth round.
The third seed had to save five break points to avoid going 3-1 down in the decider before pulling away to win 6-3 6-7 6-2.
Osaka once again wore heavy strapping on the left hamstring she injured last week while her mask bore the name of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old unarmed black man who was shot dead while out running in February.
Osaka has masks with different names on for all seven rounds, and she showed just how much she wants to repeat her triumph of two years ago.
Kostyuk reached the third round of the Australian Open in 2018 aged just 15 but this was her first big moment in the limelight since and she certainly rose to the occasion.
Speaking on court, Osaka said: ‘She was very good. I’m kind of scared of how good she’s going to be in the future.’
Fellow former champion Angelique Kerber is also through to the last 16 after a 6-3 6-4 victory over Ann Li, and a fascinating contest awaits against in-form American Jennifer Brady, who knocked out Karolina Pliskova’s conqueror Caroline Garcia.
‘I played certainly one very tough match’