please log in to view this image Andy Murray: US Open defeat tough and disappointing By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at Flushing Meadows US Open Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, Dates: 31 August-13 September Coverage: Live radio and text commentary of selected matches. Andy Murray said it was "tough" to see his run of 18 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals end with defeat by South Africa's Kevin Anderson at the US Open. The 15th seed won their fourth-round match 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0) in four hours and 18 minutes. It is the first time since 2010 that Murray has not reached at least the last eight at a Grand Slam. "That's obviously something that is disappointing to lose," said the British number one, 28. "Many years' work have gone into building that sort of consistency. To lose that is tough." Murray, seeded third, went into the match with a 5-1 win-loss record against Anderson but was playing catch-up from the moment the 6ft 8in South African saved three break points in game four. Anderson fired down 25 aces as he kept Murray at bay for most of the first two sets, and then held off a fightback from the Scot to win in four sets. please log in to view this image "He is an excellent player," said Murray. "It came down to a few points here and there. He served extremely well as he normally does, and that was it. "I was down two sets and a break and fought unbelievably hard to get myself back into it. I'm proud of the way that I fought right the way through to the end." It was Murray's first match of this year's tournament on the second show court, Louis Armstrong Stadium - the same arena that saw his last early Slam exit, against Stan Wawrinka in 2010. "The match was a very long one, close," added Murray. "I was trying to use the energy of the crowd as much as I could to help me. The atmosphere was very good. "That court is a lot quicker than Ashe. I felt like I was on the back foot quite a lot and wasn't able to play that offensively." Five key reasons Murray lost Murray played too defensively and too far back in the court. It took him 157 points, the last game of set two, to hit his first forehand winner. Murray only hit three forehand winners in the opening three sets. He hit seven in the fourth set. When rallies were extended past four shots - typically Murray's speciality - Anderson won the majority (49-42). Murray won 77% of net points (20/26) but Anderson came in almost three times as much, winning 68% (50/74). Murray ran 3,158 metres to Anderson's 2,792m - the Briton averaging 9.97m per point to the South African's 8.8m. Compiled by Craig O'Shannessy, ATP analyst The US Open was Murray's 15th tournament of the year, and Monday's match his 69th, with the added factor of two demanding Davis Cup ties in February and July. Murray will next head to Glasgow, where Britain take on Australia in their first Davis Cup semi-final for 34 years, starting on 18 September. "I've done my best in all the tournaments I've played this year," he said. "We've had a great run in Davis Cup and that was a huge priority this year, and now being in the semi-finals it's a great opportunity for us. "I have played a lot and when Davis Cup is done, I won't play much after it through to the end of the year."
please log in to view this image US Open: Serena Williams beats sister Venus to reach semi-finals By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at Flushing Meadows US Open Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, Dates: 31 August-13 September Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on selected matches. Serena Williams overcame her sister Venus at the US Open to move within two victories of her first calendar Grand Slam. The world number one held her nerve to win 6-2 1-6 6-3 and reach the semi-finals in New York. Serena, 33, will play unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci in the last four on Thursday. The American could become the first player to win all four majors in the same year since Steffi Graf in 1988. Venus, 35, was playing in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2010, but threatened to derail her sister's grand ambitions. The 23rd seed battled back to force a final set, only to see younger sister Serena capitalise on an early service break and claim her 33rd straight win at the Slams. please log in to view this image Sisters take centre stage The Williams sisters had played each other 26 times on the professional circuit, but their 27th contest was as highly anticipated as any. Serena might already hold all four Slam titles, but her bid to win them all in the same year has elevated tennis in the US sporting headlines. A lengthy preceding match meant Tuesday's night session was delayed, and expectancy rose outside Arthur Ashe Stadium as 23,000 spectators waited to take their seats for the night session. The early excitement was tempered by Serena's excellent start, but Venus gave a reminder of why she is a seven-time major champion by taking it to a final set. "She's the toughest player I've ever played in my life and the best person," said Serena. "It's going against your best friend and the greatest competitor, for me, in women's tennis, so it was really difficult for me today." Screaming Serena clinical in decider The six-time champion began and ended the match in clinical fashion, dropping to her knees and screaming "Come on!" as she earned a match point and moments later firing down an ace. After the first 33 minutes, Serena had succeeded in bringing a hush over the huge stadium as she began to dismantle her sister's game. Venus came out swinging but her younger sister made the breakthrough at 3-2, and would hit 15 winners and just two errors in a high-class opening set. please log in to view this image Serena Williams is bidding to become the fourth woman to win the calendar Grand Slam, after Maureen Connolly (1953) Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988) Serena has looked understandably on edge throughout her time in New York, however, as she closes in on a landmark achievement. A double fault saw her slip 3-1 down in the second, and she looked upset as the crowd gave their backing to her underdog sister. Venus broke again for 5-1 and came though a testing service game to force a final set that had seemed highly unlikely half an hour earlier. Serena had prevailed in 10 final-set deciders at the Slams already this year though, and survived a tense opening game to then break with three blistering backhand winners. There was plenty more huge hitting as Venus strained to recover the break, but Serena would not offer up another break point and clinched victory with her 12th ace after one hour and 38 minutes. "Holding serve in the third set was huge," said Serena. "She came out blasting and I was defending a lot. She has so much power so it was tough." Serena stats Hoping to become the fifth player to win all four majors in a calendar year Bidding to become the first woman in the Open Era to win seven US Opens Could win a 22nd Grand Slam singles title (Steffi Graf - 22, Margaret Court - 24) Last Slam defeat was against Alize Cornet at Wimbledon 2014 Last US Open defeat was against Sam Stosur at the 2011 US Open
nevermind, decent match and impressive win from swilliams in the end, vwilliams didn't make it too easy for her as much as i like and am impressed by swilliams achievements i wish some other women players were around to properly challenge her, overall strength of player in the WTA is not great really she hasn't lost a match in a slam since Wimbledon 2014 ... that's an amazing stat and staying at that level for over a year is crazy but the players aren;t there to really test her capacities imo, plus swilliams is built the way she is and about 3x the size/mass of all the rest of the field
please log in to view this image US Open 2015: Women's semi-finals postponed because of rain US Open Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, Dates: 31 August-13 September Coverage: Live radio and text commentary on every Andy Murray match plus selected matches. Serena Williams must wait until Friday to continue her pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam after the women's semi-finals at the US Open were postponed with heavy rain forecast. The matches will now take place at 11am local time (16:00 BST) on Friday. Williams will face Roberta Vinci after second seed Simona Halep meets Flavia Pennetta in the other last-four match. The men's semi-finals will take place after the conclusion of the women's matches at 22:00 BST. Top seed Novak Djokovic faces defending champion Marin Cilic first, with second seed Roger Federer taking on his fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in the other match. The rainy conditions did not prevent the men's doubles semi-finals from going ahead as scheduled on Thursday. Great Britain's Dom Inglot and his partner Robert Linstedt were beaten 7-5 6-2 by French duo Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, with Jamie Murray and his partner John Peers due to play their semi later. Also related to this story Federer & Wawrinka advance in style 10 Sep 2015 Tennis Wada should back Radcliffe - husband 10 Sep 2015 Athletics Martial buy for next boss - Van Gaal 10 Sep 2015 Football US Open tennis on the BBC 07 Jun 2015 Tennis Order of play 30 May 2013 Tennis How to get into Tennis 04 Sep 2015 Get Inspired
Nerves must have got the better of Serena. 99 times out of 100 Vinci would have been crushed by her. Hope the BBC give the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year to Serena as she has been the best female athlete for over 10 years. No doubt they will give it to Bolt yet again!!!
As Djokovic is a great athlete, I am sure he is more than a useful footballer which any number of Premiership teams could do with from my team Southampton, to the dross that is Chelsea. Do you think he would improve Liverpool?
