MELBOURNE // World No 1 Andy Murray found his stunning defeat hard to swallow after 50th-ranked Mischa Zverev extended his Australian Open agony in the fourth round on Sunday.
Murray, who has lost five finals in Melbourne, again left without the trophy after he fell to the inspired Zverev 7-5, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in a three-hour, 34-minute classic.
This time, Murray departs in Week 1 after failing to capitalise on the second-round defeat of six-time champion Novak Djokovic, so often his nemesis at the tournament.
“I’ve had tough losses in my career in the past. I’ve come back from them. This is a tough one,” Murray said.
“I’m sure I’ll come back OK from it. But right now I’m obviously very down because I wanted to go further in this event, and it wasn’t to be.”
Murray looked set to break his Melbourne grand slam jinx when his arch-rival Djokovic, who has beaten him in four Australian finals, was dumped out by Denis Istomin.
The British top seed refused to concede that it was a big opportunity lost after he was ambushed by serve-and-volley specialist Zverev, a former rival from their junior days.
“Did I miss an opportunity? I don’t know. I mean, every year you come is a different chance, different opportunity,” Murray said.
“I mean, still even had I got through this match, [Kei] Nishikori or Roger [Federer] are waiting. Stan’s [Wawrinka] still in.
“There’s certainly no guarantees, even if I got through today’s match, that I would have gone further.”
Murray had not lost before the quarter-finals at the Australian Open since going out to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in five sets in 2009.
Murray had also not lost to a player ranked as low as the German in Melbourne since he fell to No 51 Juan Ignacio Chela in 2006.
Women’s world No 1 also ousted
Top seed and reigning champion Angelique Kerber was bundled out of the fourth round by big-hitting American Coco Vandeweghe on Sunday, losing 6-2, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
The German world No 1’s exit followed that of men’s top seed and world No 1 Andy Murray, who lost to Mischa Zverev earlier in the evening on the same court.
The 25-year-old New Yorker claimed a place in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park for the first time, blasting six aces and 30 winners to overpower Kerber.
“I guess I faked [having confidence] a lot because I was feeling like crap out there,” the American said. “But, you know, fake it ‘till you make it’ .... my game plan was to execute knowing that she was going to get a lot of balls back.”
Federer outlasts Nishikori
Resilient Roger Federer showed there was still life in the 35-year-old player’s legs as he overhauled fifth seed Kei Nishikori 6-7, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals.
After six months out of the game, Federer’s fairytale return continued under the lights of Rod Laver Arena where he emphatically quashed doubts about his fitness in three hours and 24 minutes of high-octane tennis.
Having stormed into the match after a 90-minute demolition of Tomas Berdych, Federer showed his appetite for a grind, going toe-to-toe with the fleet-footed Japanese in a match littered with marathon points.
“He played a great match... it was a joy to be a part of,” 17th seed Federer said after sealing the contest with a huge smash down the line.
“This is an important win for me in my career. I know he’s got a great five-set record and he’s a tough customer.”
Stan Wawrinka overcomes Andrea Seppi
Former winner Stan Wawrinka needed three tiebreak sets to overcome Italy’s Andreas Seppi and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
The Swiss fourth seed edged out the 89th-ranked Seppi, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 in two hours, 44 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.
Wawrinka’s victory sets up him for a match with either former finalist and French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Britain’s unseeded Dan Evans in the last eight.
The Swiss leads Tsonga 4-3 and Evans 1-0 in their previous head-to-heads.
In a tight struggle, Wawrinka only got two service breaks from his nine break point opportunities and dropped his serve twice to Seppi.
It was Wawrinka’s ninth win in 12 encounters with Seppi, who knocked out Australia’s big hope Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the tournament.
Wawrinka hit 17 aces, 53 winners and made 41 unforced errors in overcoming Seppi to move into the second week of the grand slam.
Among Wawrinka’s three grand slam titles is his win over Rafael Nadal in Melbourne three years ago, when he became the first player to defeat the top two seeds en route to a major title since Spaniard Sergei Bruguera won 1993 Roland Garros.
Wawrinka also won the 2015 French Open and last year’s US Open, both times conquering Djokovic.
Dan Evans’s Melbourne run halted by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ended the fairy-tale run of Dan Evans to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday and deliver a second blow for British tennis after the shock elimination of Andy Murray.
The veteran Frenchman, who enjoyed his own storybook run to the final in 2008, took time to find his groove but finished full of running to down Evans 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in two hours and 53 minutes as twilight fell at the Hisense Arena.
Top seed Murray was earlier shocked by unseeded German Mischa Zverev and Tsonga’s win tipped the last Briton out of the men’s draw.
Tsonga will play fourth seed Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals.
Venus Williams on possible showdown with Serena: ‘We both still have to work very hard to get there’
Ageless Venus Williams is daring to dream of a possible glamour Australian Open final against sister Serena, but admits they both have their work cut to get there.
The American great progressed to an amazing 37th career grand slam quarter-final on Sunday, needing all her big-match experience against determined German qualifier Mona Barthel 6-3, 7-5.
It sets her up against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the last four and with Serena in the other side of the draw, the earliest they can meet will be the final.
Asked if she had thought about playing a ninth grand slam final against her sister, she replied: “That could hopefully happen. We both still have to work very hard to get there.
“Today I played a qualifier, and she hardly ever missed. So it doesn’t matter who you come up against, they are coming and they want to win, too.
“They have nothing to lose. I’m going to be focused on winning one round at a time and focus on doing what it takes to be there.”
The sisters played each other for the first time in Melbourne in 1998, with Venus coming out on top of the second-round match on her way to the quarter-finals.
So far, they have met in eight grand slam deciders, with Venus winning just once, at Wimbledon in 2008.
Serena, gunning for a record-breaking 23rd major crown, faces Barbora Strycova for a place in the quarters on Monday.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ‘super-excited’ to reach first grand slam quarter-final
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova credited experience and a new-found mental toughness for helping her break an Australian Open jinx and move into the quarter-finals for the first time on Sunday.
Her 6-3, 6-3 win over fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova put her into the last eight at Melbourne Park for the first time in nine attempts.
Despite being the 2006 girls champion in Melbourne, Pavlyuchenkova, 25, had always struggled to gain traction during the main draw, with Australia the only slam where the quarters had eluded her, until now.
“It’s super-exciting. I was always wondering why I could never have a good start here in Australia after good pre-season, good off-season, and a lot of practising,” she said.
“But now it seems like I found a way, and I’m super-excited to still be in the second week here.”
Next up is American great Venus Williams, and she is itching to keep going and make her first ever grand slam semi-final.
“Definitely. I want to do my first semi-finals of a grand slam or maybe a final, I would love to,” said the Moscow-based player.
“That’s why I have been working so hard for this moment now.”
* Agencies
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