ANDERSON’S MOMENT OF GLORY
South African finally breaks through to the quarters after a powerful display
ANDY MURRAY watched a 209km/h ace zoom by to create a two-set deficit at the US Open, and then sat in his changeover chair and cursed at himself, over and over and over.
A little later, Murray cracked his racket against the court, breaking the frame, and went to the sideline and mangled his equipment even more.
Often able to spur himself by letting out some anger, the two-time Grand Slam title winner only briefly managed to get into this match. The thirdseed Murray lost before the quarter-finals at a Major for the first time since 2010, beaten 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (0) by 15thseed Kevin Anderson in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows on Monday.
“Disappointing to lose because of that,” Murray said about his exit. “Obviously, that’s many years’ work that’s gone into building that sort of consistency.”
For the 2.03m Anderson, known mainly for a booming serve but terrific off the ground in this four hour, 18-minute victory, it marked a real breakthrough: He entered with an 0-7 record in fourthround matches at Majors, including when he had a twoset lead against Novak Djokovic before losing at Wimbledon two months ago.
This time, Anderson held it together, with the help of 25 aces and 81 total winners.
“I’m a little lost for words right now,” the 29-year-old Anderson said. “I just managed to keep my composure throughout.”
“I wish,” Anderson said, “I could play every tiebreak like that. I felt I played one of the best matches of my career. To do it at this stage, at this round, to get through to the quarters the first time in a Grand Slam definitely means a lot to me.
“It goes way back to my preparations. I’ve got a great team behind me, from my coach to my fitness trainers, my physical trainers. I’ve been working with a sports psychologist as well. I think that’s been a big benefit for me, just being more comfortable in these big positions.
“Today, it feels good to take a little step and actually beat one of the best guys in the world in the fourth round of a Slam. It was a very physical match. I was trying to balance conserving energy but at the same time showing some emotion. I felt at least I found a good balance there. Maybe I wasn’t ecstatic, all sorts of jumping up and down, but inside I definitely found a really good balance.”
Murray’s last loss this soon also happened in New York, in the third round five years ago.
Adept at comebacks – in the second round, he recorded his eighth victory in a match after dropping the opening two sets – Murray did push Anderson to a fourth set, but that was the extent of the rally this time.
Still, Murray kept trying to rile up himself as the fourth set carried on, even reaching over to slap the extended palm of a front-row spectator. “I was trying to use the energy of the crowd as much as I could to help me,” Murray said.
Anderson limited his signs of emotion to one uppercut after winning one point by tracking down a lob and conjuring up a sky-hook winner from the baseline. And he was perfect at the end, hitting one ace at 217km/h, another at 222km/h, while Murray couldn’t get his strokes to land in the right spots.
Anderson will next face another two-time Major champion, Stan Wawrinka in the quarters. – additional reporting by ANA