By Toby Prince
British Andy Murray was sent out of the US Open late on Monday by Kevin Anderson in a match that ended 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (0) in favour of the South African.
It was the 28-year-old’s earliest Grand Slam exit in five years.
After letting a 130 mph (203 kmh) ace zoom past, creating a two-set deficit to Anderson, Murray became increasing angry – cursing, breaking the frame of his racket and mangling other equipment – before finally dropping out of the quarter finals in the fourth round.
“Disappointing to lose because of that,” said the third seeded two-time Grand Slam winner, who is usually known to be adept at comebacks.
“Obviously that’s many years’ work that’s gone into building that sort of consistency,” Murray added.
His opponent, who entered the game with a 0-7 record in fourth-round matches at major tournaments, held it together throughout the 4-hour 18-minute game with the help of 25 aces and a total of 81 winners.
“I’m a little lost for words right now,” 15th seeded Anderson said. “I just managed to keep my composure throughout.”
Murray had a streak that saw him reach the quarters at his previous 18 Grand Slam tries, which led to wins of the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013.
