Weeks 35-36: US Open (men's main draw) - hard

Madeline · Admin:Moderator + Tennis Legend

RE: Weeks 35-36: US Open (men's main draw) - hard

RJA · Hall of fame

Never does anything easy does our Andy.

Armchair · County player

Come on Andy I'm just back from a horrendous visit to the dental hospital, I don't think I can go five.....

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Madeline wrote:
First set down the pan.

Second follows it by 3-6! disbelief Come on, Andy, get your bleedin' arse in gear...

scottie1 · Futures level

not playing well cannot cope with the pace and weight of Wawrinka. To me he is out tonight body language says it all

RJA · Hall of fame

I didn't expect this result but it can't be considered a huge shock. Warning signs have been there for the last month and to be brutally honest, grass season aside Andy has been well below his best since winning the US Open last year.

Armchair · County player

Stopped watching second game of the second set. Didn't need to see the rest.

philwrig · Hall of fame

Shocker, I thought Stan could win but not in this manner, only consolation is that he can get over to Croatia and have more prep time for DC, that might be just what he needs.

Helen40 · Grand Slam Champion

I know Andy didn't play well, and Stan played a blinder, but I'm still gutted. I had settle down for the third set with hopes for at least some sort of comeback with a glass of wine - now I think it's going to be more of another glass to drown my sorrows

Spectator · All-time great

Like RJA, I'm not unusually surprised. I was rather taken aback by his press conference after the Istomin match; it just feels very flat. And nothing in his play since Wimbledon has countered a certain impression of flatness. Add to that the fact that Wawrinka can be very dangerous, and ....

Wouldn't be surprised if he had a very good Asian swing though.

Mr Djokovic (I'm going to assume that a very depleted Mr Youzhny is less of a risk) may be pleased not to be encountering Mr Murray, but after the AO, he's unlikely to be too thrilled that he is encountering Mr Wawrinka again.

indiana · Tennis legend

Bah !

Having said that this was the first Slam in a very long time that I wouldn't be too upset by an Andy loss at whatever stage, still very disapponted.

However, he lived a dream in early July and the time he subsequently took out has maybe caught up with him a bit as did a couple of his hibernations after Aussie Open losses.

He's had s tremendously satisfying last 15 months at the highest level and achieved such heights with Olympic gold, first Slam title and Wimbledon title, and now has had a not totally unexpected letdown against a very inform opponent.

I can live with that, and I suspect great competitir as he is, Andy maybe even can too. Some might say as a total pro, renewed focus should be automatic. But Andy is not like tbat and I kind of like that he is not some automaton but an emotional being.

Roll on 2014, a new year with hopefully renewed vigour and focus from Andy.

But first of all, could you help us out with a little task in Croatia ?

korriban · Challenger level

Well Andy certainly can't complain about the result!

It was pretty much all Wawrinka from the start, and whilst it's true that Andy has looked a step short and less motivated since Wimbledon (which is understandable, I suppose), this was up there as one of the worst performances I can remember seeing from Andy in an important match ever.

* Broken 4 times in 3 sets and, frankly, he was lucky to keep it as low as that - his first serve was pretty good today; without that it would have been a rout. His second serve was terrible.

* Usually one of if not the best returner in the game, but his returns were often mis-timed and short; and the fact that he failed to produce a single BP in the entire match is almost unbelievable.

* Very few winners, and considerably more UEs than he would expect. If there was a single backhand winner, I certainly can't remember it.

* Very little pace or depth on his groundstrokes - so he immediately popped it up for Stan to crush.

* Sluggish around the court. Indeed he berated himself for poor footwork on a few occasions.

The good news is that, for someone of Andy's class, he was SO poor that he can write-off the performance, and he and Ivan can utilise it it to give them motivation to redouble his training and preparation. It will probably come out in the wash over the next few days, but I'll wager he's about a week or so down on prep time for the USO compared to 2012, possibly had less intensive or shorter sessions, and perhaps has seen his motivation dip by 10%. He'll be honest enough to rectify it next time.

As for Stan...Bravo! hard not to like him and the way he plays: a real crowd pleaser. Assuming Djokovic wins, I'm sure the crowd will be cheering for Stan and Richard in the SFs.....Stan might have a genuine shot; and in my dream I picked Gasquet for the Final so I'll back him, even if it looks a hopeless task.

Interesting indeed.

imoen · Admin: Moderator+Tennis Legend

I'm not overly dissappointed by this loss, I thought the QF was always going to cause Andy problems and actually I think this could be good thing in the long run. It seems to be Andy needs a new goal and priority, if that's going for the number 1 ranking fine, if not he needs a firmer target to work for than just "more Grand Slams" which is a bit too wooly to really focus on in my opinion.

As has been said it will also give him longer to adjust to the clay in Croatia and that can only be a good thing for the GB Davis cup prospects :)

RJA · Hall of fame

indiana wrote:
He's had s tremendously satisfying last 15 months at the highest level and achieved such heights with Olympic gold, first Slam title and Wimbledon title, and now has had a not totally unexpected letdown against a very inform opponent.

This is a fair point which probably needs to be emphasised. If the day after the total and utter despair of losing the 2012 Wimbledon final you had told me that within 15 months of that he would have an Olympic gold medal and 2 Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon 2013, I would have ripped your arm off. I remain disappointed with his form over the last 12 months but that has to be taken in context.

john · Top national player

Good stuff Andy. Real commitment to the GB cause. Can't be hanging around playing silly exhibition tennis in New York when there's a Davis Cup tie to be getting ready for!!