At the very least, this was a testament to Andy Murray’s mettle.
As yesterday afternoon’s hot sun out at Louis Armstrong Stadium bore down on the No. 3 seed and defending Olympic gold medalist, Murray willed his way past hard-hitting Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), advancing to the fourth round of the U.S. Open.
“I had to keep fighting to the end and during the middle part of match, I struggled with that,” said Murray, who will play Milos Raonic tomorrow. “I played some good tennis, especially towards the ends of sets.”
The pinnacle of the 3-hour-and-53-minute slog came in the fourth set, Murray up 2 sets to 1, with the games tied 5-5 and Murray seemingly on the verge of being pushed to a fifth set and losing all momentum. Facing a break point that would have let Lopez serve for the set, Murray charged back to win an epic 23-shot point, force deuce, and then win the next two points to go ahead 6-5.
“Points like that can change the match,” said Murray, who at 25 years old has made it to the fourth round of the U.S. Open four out of the past five years, but is still looking for his first Grand Slam title. “The momentum was kind of with me a little bit after that, whereas before that, it was with him. Both of us had our chances.”
Chances to say the least, as Lopez actually won 162 total points to Murray’s 154, along with having 68 winners to Murray’s 53. In trading service games and breaks in equal measure, it was Murray that pulled off the shots when he needed them most.
“He’s really a complete player,” Lopez said. “He’s a champion. He should have won a few majors by now. In another time, he should have been No. 1, for sure.”
Before this tournament started, it was not this match but the next, against Raonic, that seemed to be the biggest impediment to Murray cruising into the semifinals to meet his arch nemesis (once thwarted) Roger Federer.
But to get to Federer, the seeds would have to pan out and Murray would have to best Raonic, who showed to be a tough out after whopping American James Blake, 6-3, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) in 1 hour and 48 minutes. Described by John McEnroe as having “top 5 talent,” Raonic is a 6-foot-5 Canadian with a big serve and an accompanying game that is undervalued by his No. 15 seeding.
After that, it would be one more win for Murray before the semifinals, before Federer, before the rematch from this year’s Wimbledon finals (a Federer win that emphasized his resurgence) as well as the gold medal match (a Murray win in front of his home London fans that he called the biggest moment of his career).
“It was challenging on both fronts,” Murray said about the physical and mental effect of playing such an arduous summer schedule. “When you play with someone like Federer, you can go games not touching the ball.
“Physically, I’d like to be in slightly better form, but that’s what these matches are for.”