Murray crashes out while Nadal is two good

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:47

The British star, a finalist at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago, was way off the form that had earned him five ATP Tour titles in 2009 as he suffered a straight sets defeat to Marin Cilic, the 16th seed from Croatia, who won in it at a canter at Arthur Ashe Stadium, 7-5 6-2 6-2.

Asked if the defeat was the biggest disappointment of his career, Murray replied: “My tennis career, yes. I mean, worse things have happened to me, that’s for sure.”

He added: “In terms of tennis I guess it’s just kind of the way the match went that really makes it disappointing.”

Nadal reclaimed the world number two ranking from Murray as he stormed into the quarter-finals with a four-set victory over Gael Monfils.

Nadal came from a set down to France’s 13th seed to win 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-1 6-3 and set up a last-eight meeting with Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez, the 11th seed, who had handed the French their first defeat of the night with a four-set win over seventh seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“I’m very happy now after the last two matches I played,” Nadal said having improved on previous round performances against Richard Gasquet and Nicolas Kiefer.

Cilic, meanwhile, will face sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro, who cruised into the last eight with a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Spain’s 24th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero, setting up a showdown with the 6ft 6ins Cilic, who will be making his first appearance in a grand slam quarter-final.

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