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British hopes of breaking a 73-year grand slam drought have crumbled under a Spanish serving onslaught that blasted fourth seed Andy Murray out of the Australian Open.
Spain’s 14th seed Fernando Verdasco brought up the shock of the men’s singles championship on Monday beating Murray 2-6 6-1 1-6 6-3 6-4 to advance to the quarter-finals.
The Scot who had been the early favourite in betting on the championship went into the fourth round match in less than perfect health, but refused to blame it in any way for his defeat.
“He played too good, I’m not here to make excuses,” Murray said.
“I had my chances, but he served too good for me.”
Verdasco turned the game his way with a fourth-set serving performance that defied belief.
The Spaniard smashed a staggering 93 per cent of his first serves into play, crushing any resistance Murray may have had.
Verdasco said he had drawn inspiration from his Davis Cup performance of last year when he led Spain – minus world No.1 Rafael Nadal – to victory over Argentina.
“When I was 2-1 down, I was thinking I can do it again, like in the Davis Cup,” he said.
A tip indirectly offered by Nadal also helped Verdasco pull off his unlikely victory.
He said he had read a report in which Nadal had suggested he play to Murray’s forehand and move him around.
“I didn’t ask Rafa for advice, but I take it anyway,” he said.
A disconsolate Murray accepted the defeat well, saying he would put it down to experience.
“I’m disappointed I lost but I’ll try and learn from it and hopefully I’ll come back a better player,” he said.
“There are more important things than a tennis match.”
Whether that sentiment is shared by Britons who have been starved of a men’s grand slam champion since 1936 when Fred Perry won Wimbledon, is debatable.
Murray, who lost to Roger Federer in the final of the last US Open, seems certain to provide more prospects of rewriting the records than his recent predecessors.
But the player who had been made favourite for the men’s singles by bookmakers said he might not occupy that position again for a while.
“I don’t know if I’ll be the favourite for a slam in the next year or so after today,” he said.
“But it doesn’t really bother me.
“If I’m the favourite to win, whatever, I play the same as I am when I’m the underdog.
“I try my best to win.”
While Murray was suffering from a cold, Verdasco went into the match fully fit and his superior physical condition showed at the end of the match.
But he had a more simple explanation for his performance.
“I just had a better day than him,” he said.
The same could be said for Frenchman Gilles Simon who also claimed a place in the last eight with a hollow victory over compatriot Gael Monfils.
A wrist injury ended Monfils’ challenge at the end of the third set with the score 6-4 2-6 6-1 in favour of Simon, the sixth seed.
Simon’s quarter-final opponent will be world No.1 Rafael Nadal who swept through the fourth round with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 defeat of Chilean 13th seed Fernando Gonzalez.
While Nadal will be a clear favourite when he plays Simon on Wednesday, the Frenchman has a plan.
If he is to beat Nadal he says he will have to run for five hours, and play perfect tennis.
Simon said he is pleased to be playing Nadal.
“I prefer to play the No.1 always,” he said.
“I think it is easier to play against them because you really know what you have to do.
“I have to run five hours to win. I have no choice.
“You just have to do a perfect match.
“If it’s not perfect, you lose.”
Simon presumably had all the ingredients when he beat Nadal the last time the two met in a Masters Series match in Madrid in October.
He also beat Federer in the Masters Cup round robin in Shanghai in November.
AAP mh/gc
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