TENNIS NEWS FROM THE U.S. OPEN – KEI NISHIKORI TAKES OUT ANDY MURRAY & STAN WAWRINKA BEAT DEL POTRO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

Written by: Staff on 8th September 2016

TENNIS NEWS FROM THE U.S. OPEN - KEI NISHIKORI TAKES OUT ANDY MURRAY & STAN WAWRINKA BEAT DEL POTRO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

epa05529328 Andy Murray of Great Britain (L) hits a return to Kei Nishikori of Japan during their quarterfinals round match on the tenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

Nishikori, Wawrinka send Olympic finalists crashing out of U.S. Open

By Ricky Dimon

The summer’s best player will not be a part of the final-weekend festivities at the U.S. Open. Andy Murray, the Wimbledon and Rio Olympics champion, fell to Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 during quarterfinal action on Wednesday afternoon. After three hours and 57 minutes, Murray found himself ruing a fourth consecutive defeat prior to the semifinals since he triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2012.

A refreshingly entertaining battle on the heels of two routine quarterfinal contests one day earlier, Murray vs. Nishikori featured wild momentum swings from start to finish. A split of the first four sets saw two 6-1 blowouts, one in each man’s favor.

Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Kei Nishikori of Japan during their quarterfinals round match on the tenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

That set the stage for a dramatic fifth, during which arguably the point of the tournament came at 5-5, 30-40 on Murray’s serve. The second-ranked Scot tracked down a drop shot and answered it with a strong backhand pass, but Nishikori lunged for a forehand volley that dropped in for a decisive winner. Japan’s top player promptly delivered a routine service hold at 6-5 to seal the deal.

“It was really difficult match,” Nishikori assured. “I didn’t quite start well and lost (the first set) 6-1. I felt it was really quick and I was rushing a little bit and [making] too much unforced errors. But after rain delay I think I [worked a] little bit with my coach and I tried to change a little bit my tennis and start working a little bit better. I started get my rhythm back.

“Especially (in the) fifth set it was really tough. I was up 4-3, 40-love and lost the game. So there [were] many up and downs, but I tried to (remain) calm. I think that’s the most important thing I did today. Even though there [were] many up and downs, I tried to stay tough.”

“I’m not disappointed in a way,” Murray said. “Obviously I would have loved to have won, but I have had a good run every match. I would have loved to have gone further, but it wasn’t to be today…. I tried my best. I fought as hard as I could with what I had today. I didn’t let anyone down. Certainly not myself. I pushed myself as hard as I could over the last few months, and I’m very proud of how I have done.”

Perhaps nobody has accounted for himself more impressively than Juan Martin Del Potro over the past few months. Making yet another comeback from wrist issues, Del Potro upset Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon and won the silver medal at the Olympics before making a run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals. But it was none other than Wawrinka who got revenge on Wednesday night with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina reacts after losing the first set tiebreak to Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their quarterfinals round match on the tenth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

Unaccustomed to playing so many matches in such a short frame of time, the workload proved to be one match too much for Del Potro. The 27-year-old Argentine made a big push to even the score by taking the second set,but it was all Wawrinka the rest of the way. This fortnight’s No. 3 seed dropped a grand total of 12 points in 10 service games during the second and third sets en route to a third U.S. Open semifinal appearance.

“(Del Potro is) not a player that I can really play always the way I want (against) because he’s so aggressive,” Wawrinka noted. “It was important to stay tough. I knew it [would] be difficult. But I’m happy with the way I was fighting. I’m happy with the way I [found a] solution in the third set. I saw also that he was starting to go a little bit down; I took advantage of that.”

“I think my tennis is starting to respond as I want,” Del Potro explained, “but physically I’m still down. I’m not [at] the same level [as] these guys…. I’m already top 100, so that’s good. Everything here is positive for me.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, 2016 US Open, Andy Murray, Flushing Meadows, Juan Martin Del Potro, Kei Nishikori, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis News, US Open tennis

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September 8, 2016 at 9:02 am

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