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| Wawrinka Ousts Murray at U.S. Open | Wawrinka Ousts Murray at U.S. Open |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| For a few hours, Andy Murray seemed to go back in time, back to the days before he had won majors, when mental meltdowns marked many of his Grand Slam efforts. If fans stumbled into his quarterfinal match against Stanislas Wawrinka at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday, they might have sworn it was 2010 or thereabouts. Murray spent much of his time howling at himself, the wind, anything he might deem responsible for a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 loss. | |
| In fact, though, Wawrinka was mostly responsible, playing all-out from the first point to the last. He was firing winners from everywhere — 45 total — and running down even the best of Murray’s shots. He never let Murray get comfortable, settle in, start rekindling fond memories of winning his first career major here last year. | In fact, though, Wawrinka was mostly responsible, playing all-out from the first point to the last. He was firing winners from everywhere — 45 total — and running down even the best of Murray’s shots. He never let Murray get comfortable, settle in, start rekindling fond memories of winning his first career major here last year. |
| “He just played great,” said Murray, who did not earn a single break point in a match. “He hit a lot of lines, was going for big shots and he played too well.” | “He just played great,” said Murray, who did not earn a single break point in a match. “He hit a lot of lines, was going for big shots and he played too well.” |
| The ninth-seeded Wawrinka earned a breakthrough victory, gaining his first trip to a Grand Slam semifinal, where he will play the winner of Thursday night’s match between No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Mikhail Youzhny. For most of his career, Wawrinka has been known as the other player from Switzerland, obscured by the shadow of his sometimes doubles partner Roger Federer. Federer had already been sent reeling from this tournament, leaving the understudy in a starring role. | |
| “It feels amazing for sure,” Wawrinka said. “Especially to win that match. He’s the defending champion, such a tough opponent. I’m just too happy. It was a crazy match for me.” | “It feels amazing for sure,” Wawrinka said. “Especially to win that match. He’s the defending champion, such a tough opponent. I’m just too happy. It was a crazy match for me.” |
| Going into the match, Murray held an 8-5 edge against Wawrinka, although Wawrinka won the last time they met at the Open, in 2010. That second-round match ended, 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3, with Murray looking like he often did back then — tormented. Wawrinka reached the quarterfinals that year, his best showing at the Open. He has made the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam only two other times, most recently at the French Open this year. | |
| This match took on its personality in the first set, when Murray began losing his composure, staging the kind of emotional collapse that came regularly earlier in his career, when he seemed to be set upon by torturing demons whenever things started to go poorly in a match. Those days appeared to be put in the past when Murray broke through last year with an Olympic gold medal and a United States Open title. His victory at Wimbledon in July seemed to be the final sign of his maturation. | |
| But something about the first set against Wawrinka prompted the demons to make a return. Murray had a similarly nervous start to his last round, dropping the first set in a tiebreaker to unseeded Denis Istomin, but Thursday’s match quickly traveled beyond nervous to downright maddening. | |
| With Murray serving to stay in the set at 4-5, he and Wawrinka dug into a game that lasted nearly 20 minutes, involving eight deuces and a half dozen unhinged moments by Murray. After one great passing shot by Wawrinka, Murray’s face contorted into a mask of rage as he clawed a hand in front of his face. After a double fault, he swiped his racket against the ground and howled into the stands. When he sent one last forehand error long on Wawrinka’s sixth break point, Murray smashed his racket against the court, shattering it further once he got to his chair for the changeover. | |
| Wawrinka was on the much happier end of things, feeling that pivotal game had sent things in the right direction. | Wawrinka was on the much happier end of things, feeling that pivotal game had sent things in the right direction. |
| “It wasn’t easy,” Wawrinka said. “It was very windy today. To get that first set though, everything seemed better.” | “It wasn’t easy,” Wawrinka said. “It was very windy today. To get that first set though, everything seemed better.” |
| Murray continued his Murray-of-old ways into the second set, and Wawrinka quickly built on his success. He got Murray down by 0-40 in the sixth game and fired another winner down the line to deepen Murray’s misery. After he dropped that set, Murray sat in his chair during the changeover yelling at himself. | Murray continued his Murray-of-old ways into the second set, and Wawrinka quickly built on his success. He got Murray down by 0-40 in the sixth game and fired another winner down the line to deepen Murray’s misery. After he dropped that set, Murray sat in his chair during the changeover yelling at himself. |
| “When it’s breezy conditions, I think everyone takes a bit of time to feel comfortable on the court,” Murray said. “But I don’t think I was playing poorly. I got to the quarterfinals of a Slam, which isn’t easy. I mean, I would have like to have played a little bit better.” | |
| Wawrinka, meanwhile, was trying to hold his composure and not think about the situation or what a victory might mean to his career. That got even harder when he was serving for the match at 5-2 in the third, his dominance of Murray continuing throughout. | Wawrinka, meanwhile, was trying to hold his composure and not think about the situation or what a victory might mean to his career. That got even harder when he was serving for the match at 5-2 in the third, his dominance of Murray continuing throughout. |
| “I had too many thoughts,” Wawrinka said. “I was nervous for sure. I was just trying to keep playing my game, doing what I was doing for the last two hours, trying to not let him come back.” | “I had too many thoughts,” Wawrinka said. “I was nervous for sure. I was just trying to keep playing my game, doing what I was doing for the last two hours, trying to not let him come back.” |
| It turned out, Murray had no comeback in him. He looked much more sanguine when it was over than he had during the match, exiting the court quickly while Wawrinka basked in an unfamiliar feeling. | It turned out, Murray had no comeback in him. He looked much more sanguine when it was over than he had during the match, exiting the court quickly while Wawrinka basked in an unfamiliar feeling. |
| “Look, I can’t complain,” Murray said. “If someone told me before the U.S. Open last year I would have been here as the defending champion, having won Wimbledon and the Olympic gold, I would have taken that 100 percent. So, I’m disappointed, but the year as a whole has been a good one.” | “Look, I can’t complain,” Murray said. “If someone told me before the U.S. Open last year I would have been here as the defending champion, having won Wimbledon and the Olympic gold, I would have taken that 100 percent. So, I’m disappointed, but the year as a whole has been a good one.” |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: September 5, 2013 | |
An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of one of Stanislas Wawrinka’s possible semifinal opponents. He is Mikhail Youzhny, not Mikail Youhzny. |