Novak Djokovic has prevailed in a five-set encounter against Andy Murray to advance into the US Open semi-finals.
Djokovic outlasted a forehand assault from two-time Grand Slam winner Murray in a three-hour and 32-minute slog, winning 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (1-7) 6-2 6-4 to book a date with first time Grand Slam semi-finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan.
While Thursday evening’s star-studded event at Arthur Ashe Stadium didn’t always provide the prettiest of tennis, it did show why both players are among the world’s very best.
Murray’s usually stellar backhand took a back seat to a stronger than usual forehand game, resulting in 20 winners for the Scot and in turn forcing the seven-time major winner into a number of uncharacteristic defensive errors.
“He has changed his game for the better in the past couple of years, working with Ivan [Lendl],” Djokovic said of Murray. “He has immense quality on any surface. We played a five-set match here a couple of years ago and I knew he was going to go for his shots – and that the more aggressive one was going to win it.”
A tired Murray began to slow down in a poor fourth set, which also saw his service speed drop dramatically.
“I tried to hang in as best I could in the fourth set,” Murray said. “But he appeared fresher than me. Whether he was or not, I don’t know. Maybe he does a better job of hiding it than me.”
Djokovic is set for his eighth consecutive US Open semi-final appearance after having last claimed the title in 2011.
“I’m glad I managed to stay fit in the end and managed to pull it through,” Djokovic said.
“We both gave our best,” he added. “At times the tennis was not that nice. We made a lot of unforced errors, but that’s due to the very physical battle we had in the first two and a half sets. I didn’t expect any less before the match.”
Thursday (US EST) quarterfinals include Tomas Berdych against Marin Cilic and French 20th seed Gael Monfils against Roger Federer.
Photo: Don Emmert/Getty Images
