Andy Murray Shocked By Stanislas Wawrinka at US Open: Another Year Wasted
Murray Hanging Head after the Loss
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
In the biggest upset of the US Open 2010, No. 4 seed Andy Murray was stunned by No. 25 seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in four sets, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 3-6, 3-6. The loss could have been straight set had the Swiss held to his early break in the first set. The match lasted a few minutes short of four hours.
In the first two matches of the US Open the Scot won without losing a set, it looked like it was his year.
It’s déjà vu all over again. Murray lost last year at the US Open similarly to Marin Cilic, a lower ranking but much more talented player in the fourth round.
From the beginning, once he was broken, Murray retreated to his defensive game. He must have believed that his defense was enough to defeat the likes of Wawrinka. He mistakenly undermined the underdog, despite knowing that the Swiss had pushed him to a five-setter at the Wimbledon last year.
In fact, the Swiss had beaten the Scot three times in the past, including once on a faster hard court (2006 Miami). It was the 5-3 overall lead that Murray must have overconfident about.
On the other hand, the Swiss was surprising Murray with his beautiful one-handed backhand shots deep in both corners. Remember one-handed backhand shots are more difficult to anticipate when it is on fire.
One thing was certainly evident in the match: Once Wawrinka started taking it to the Scot, Murray forgot how to play aggressively. Murray suddenly forgot the ability that he showed at the Canada Masters, when he downed Federer and Nadal in consecutive matches.
After taking care of the first set, Murray was up a break early in the second and seemed to have control of the match, leading until it was 5-3 before losing his focus and the next game. This time Wawrinka prevailed in the tie break.
Wawrinka never backed up a minute, even when he was a set and a break down. The Swiss’ guts and quality play got into Murray’s mind. Scot’s increasing frustration was aggravated by his four foot faults in the match.
After the second set, Murray’s mind appeared to be drifted else where: He was not in the match.He was barely putting the ball back in, hoping Wawrinka to miss.
Federer must be right when he remarked once in an interview that Murray could not be a dominant player by simply employing a defensive strategy against talented and aggressive players.
In the fourth set, when the Scot was about to go down double break, he valiantly saved three break points to stay in the match.
“He played better than me and that’s it,” Murray shamelessly accepted. “In the third and fourth sets, I was struggling physically. I tried to find a way to come back. I have not been in that position for a very long time. Maybe that had something to do with it.”
Those excuses will not fly for this year. Murray was healthy, confident, and aggressive in the lead-up tournaments, with plenty of time to rest between.
Billed as the co-top favorite, along with Roger Federer, Murray has once again disappointed the United Kingdom and his fans around the world.
Both players had to call for trainers and underwent multiple therapeutic sessions. In fact, the Swiss appeared to have more serious injuries to take care of than the Scot. Murray cannot attribute his loss to injuries than to his dispirited play, underestimation of the opponent, and poor planning.
Now Murray cannot fire his mother Judy, after firing Miles Maclagan. He is not Federer who could play at the top of his game without a coach and still produce the best results out there.
All credit goes to Wawarinka, who was once a top tenner: He was patient and aggressive through out the match. Thanks to Wawrinka‘s coach Peter Lundgren, who once molded Federer into a winning mind. As a Davis Cup coach for UK, Lundgren must have known Murray’s weaknesses and must have benefited the Swiss strategically.
Especially in the context Murray was projected to win a Grand Slam for the third year in a row, after his US Open final debut in 2008, eight Slams have passed, and none came his way, this loss is surely a fodder for the doubters, prompting and strengthening their questions like: “Will Murray ever win a Grand Slam? Is he a Slam material at all?”
One may even wonder if it was a Álex Corretja curse, who finished runner-up twice in Grand Slams (French Open 1998 and 2001), and, like Murray, who also reached career high No. 2.
Murray’s exit eases the path of Nadal reaching the final. This means we will get Federer-Nadal final. That is yummy simply because the year’s last two Slams disappointed us by giving straight setters.
To end, so far Murray has learned only to cry like Federer, not play like him. In fact, no one in the history of tennis has.
