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MW 9 September 2015

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22 maltatoday, Wednesday, 9 september 2015 Sport Tennis - Us Open Murray knocked out of Us Open in fourth round World no. 3 andy murray crashes out to south african Kevin anderson in Us Open ScottiSh star Andy Murray suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit for five years as he lost a gruelling fourth-round contest against 15th seed Kevin Ander- son. the South African won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-0) in four hours and 18 minutes to reach a first major quarter-final, where he faces Stan Wawrinka. it is the first time since the 2010 US open that Murray has lost before the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. An emotional Murray smashed his racquet – handing it over to a spectator – and argued with the umpire before launching a fightback in the third set, but Anderson dominated the deci- sive tie-break. Going into the match, the 29- year-old Anderson was an un- likely candidate to dominate a former US open and Wimble- don champion. in his ninth year on the pro circuit, Anderson has had only three tour victories to his name and never advanced beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam. the powerful South Afri- can was a force throughout the match, battling nerves only oc- casionally. he was broken early in the third set before losing it on a tiebreak, before coming back with an assured perform- ance in the fourth set. Anderson played aggressively and took chances, pouring 25 aces past a sometimes helpless Murray, who was denied a 20th consecutive Grand Slam quar- terfinal run. he hit 81 winners during the match against Murray's 49, and rushed the net 58 times ver- sus 24 approaches for Murray. in fact, Anderson has been the most prolific net player in the entire US open, often display- ing a graceful touch belying his giant frame. "i'm a little lost for words right now. i was just trying to keep my composure against Andy, and i honestly played one of the best matches of my life," said Ander- son, who clinched the fourth set tiebreak to win. "he's such a fighter, and such an amazing player, i knew i had to try my best and just stick with it," he said. Federer marches into quarter-finals Five-tiMe champion Roger Fe- derer won a battle of the serves to beat John isner in round four of the US open. Swiss Federer, seeded second, won 7-6 (7-0) 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 and set up a quarter-final against French 12th seed Richard Gas- quet. Fifth seed Stan Wawrinka beat American Donald Young and will next face Andy Murray's conqueror, Kevin Anderson. in the women's draw, Britain's Jo Konta lost to fifth seed Petra Kvitova while second seed Simo- na halep progressed. the world number two will be contesting his 46th grand slam quarter-final. Federer, who never lost his serve, held his own from the service line to thwart isner and used his returning skills to de- rail a pair of long streaks enjoyed by the American. isner had not lost his serve for the entire tournament, until his very last service game. the American had held on for 56 straight service games until Federer, who had already won two tie breaks, clinched the match when isner sent a volley wide. "John has one of the best serves in the game, especially the pace on his second serve, which is un- real," said Federer. "i guess you've got to hang around and make sure you don't drop your own serve." the 34-year-old, chasing an 18th major title, goes on to face Gasquet, who beat czech tomas Berdych 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1. "that one was massive," Fe- derer said afterward. "i wasn't feeling that good going into it, and i had to fight off some tough serves in it. it was rough. But i just picked the right side a few times. confidence helped get me through that one." Republic Street, Valletta next to the Courts Andy Murray, lost to Kevin Anderson in US Open Roger Federer, to meet Richard Gasquet in US Open quarter-final

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