New York, Sep 8 (IANS) Men’s world No.3 Andy Murray has said it was “tough and disappointing” to see his run of 18 successive Grand Slam quarter-finals end with the defeat against South Africa’s Kevin Anderson at the US Open tennis tournament here.
The 15th seed Anderson 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 on Monday.
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. Many years’ work has gone into building that sort of consistency. To lose that is tough,” Murray was quoted as saying by bbc.com on Monday.
“He (Anderson) is an excellent player. It came down to a few points here and there. He served extremely well as he normally does, and that was it,” the 28-year-old said.
“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,” Murray said.
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. 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,” he said.
“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,” Murray concluded.