Djokovic's Steady Nerve Enough to Top Roger

Beating Roger Federer these days is much like beating Manchester United. Pull it off and you are bound to hit the headlines. Novak Djokovic triumphed against Roger Federer for the first time in a Grand Slam event since the 2008 Australian Open, the Serbs' last Slam Final, and his last Slam win. It may be auspicious for the world number three, or it may mean nothing, as he will have his work cut out against Rafael Nadal, who will be aiming to win his third Grand Slam of 2010, and become only the fourth player in the Open Era to win all four majors, joining Rod Laver, Andre Agassi and of course, Federer.

The match itself defied any master narrative, swinging seemingly decisively one way before shifting straight back. Indeed, when Federer set up two match points in the fifth set, it all looked familiar to regular tennis-watchers, before Djokovic played two gutsy points to get back to deuce.

Back at 5-5 and on Federer's serve, the Serb broke decisively, and then saved a break point of his own while serving for the match. The world number two then saw a succession of forehands sail long, handing Djojovic the fifth set 7-5.

In six previous seasons Federer has not failed to make two Grand Slam finals in a calender year, and prior to this year's French Open, had reached the past eight finals at all four majors, winning four of them, but losing three to Nadal. The match also ended his run of six US Open finals, including five titles before being beaten by Juan Martin Del Potro this time last year.

The match also ended a streak of three consecutive times that Federer had dumped Djokovic out of the US Open. In 2007 Federer beat the Serb in his first Grand Slam final appearance, then in 2008 and 2009 the Swiss triumphed in the Semi-Finals of both years.

For Djokovic the win salvaged something from an immensely frustrating season. Beaten by Tsonga in the Quarter Finals of the Australian Open in a re-match of the 2008 Final, he was then put out of the French by Jurgen Melzter, again in the Quarters, despite holding a two sets to love advantage in the match. Then he was outclassed by Tomas Berdych in the Wimbledon semi-finals, and another Semi-Final defeat to Federer at Flushing Meadows would have compounded the Serb's woes.

The first four sets were topsy-turvy encounters with the 16-time Grand Slam winner taking the first and third sets 7-5, with the Serb picking up the second and fourth 6-1 and 6-2, breaking Federer twice in both sets. Whatever is to blame for Federer's recent performances, at times he seems a shadow of his former self, and on the Arthur Ashe court, where he has so often excelled, he racked up more unforced errors than winners. Where he showed entire matches packed with flair and brilliance, his game flickered into life invarably, and only on the odd point did he display the sort of tennis that has dominated the sport for the past six years.

He would occasionally step in and strike the ball imperiously cross-court for a clear winner, but more often than not his opponent displayed far clearer aggression, hurrying Federer's forehand, and forcing him to either net, or shoot the ball long. The match might have headed away from the Serb after the fourth set, as the cat-and-mouse tennis suited the former world number one by far.

With far less hesitancy Djokovic stepped up the aggression in the fourth, and kept a steady nerve to triumph in a tight fifth set that could very easily have gone either way. The Serb's father, hard to miss with his son's visage emblazoned on his t-shirt, and those in the world number three's camp were sent into raptures by the win. Nadal provide a far sterner test today.

Murray's US Open Dream Turns Into a Nightmare

Dazed and Confused Murray Knocked out by Wawrinka

For every blockbuster where the Brit has pulled one out of the fire, his defeats of Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka at Wimbledon being the two most prominent examples, there are those where he has come up short. Last night was one of those times, just like his loss to Fernando Verdasco in Australia in 2009, or Marian Cilic, this time last year at Flushing Meadows.

In what will rank as one of the most bizarre matches Murray has ever participated in, he was ousted by the 20th seed in four sets, a match that lasted three hours and 54 minutes, and finished just after midnight BST.

When Murray does eventually win a Grand Slam, it will be all the sweeter because of days like this. Only Murray will be able to fully assess his own performance, yet his on court eccentricity, and the level to which his play degenerated to was simply astounding, even more so because it was punctuated by the odd point played to perfection.

A public self-destruction from the World Number Four was not what the spectators expected on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, but that was what they got. Along the way Murray lost the crowd, his head, and full control of his body. "I was struggling physically. I tried to find a way to come back, but couldn't do it. I was disappointed that I hadn't been in that position for a long time physically," he said afterwards.

"I don't think it was a terrible performance today, I don't think I did terribly, it was very different playing a guy in the last round to a guy like Wawrinka, who is a much better player. In the third and fourth sets, I was struggling physically and I got frustrated with that.

Maybe I felt that my chance of winning here was slipping away. It happens to everyone."

The gutsy, never say-die attitude that usually characterises Murray's play was wholly absent, replaced by hours of sullen, moping body-language. There was no sprinting around the court, chasing lost-causes by the fourth seed. Instead, after dropping the second set, one he really should have won, since at one point he was serving for the set, he wandered around the court like a shell shock victim, unable to find any rhythm whatsoever against the big-hitting Swiss. At times he stopped moving entirely in the middle of points, opting not to chase balls.

Yesterday looked like an aberration, although every once in a while he seemed to be on the cusp of rediscovering form, only to lose it going for a drop shot, or hitting a ball long. Whatever was wrong with Murray, perhaps a groin strain, it shackled his serve for the last two sets of the match, and he was stuck shooting 80 mph second serves into the middle of the court, easy pickings for a hitter of Wawrinka's calibre.

Unable to take the initiative in any of his points with his serve ineffectual, he was pegged behind the baseline for most of the match, as the Swiss hit the baseline with his forehand and background with great regularity.

All credit should go to Wawrinka, as he executed his game-plan perfectly against his opponent, but it was Murray who lost the match, rather than the Swiss winning it. Wawrinka, who has failed to reach a grand slam quarter-final, merely had to wait for the right time to attack, and pounce. He will face Sam Querrey in the fourth round, after the American knocked out Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in straight-sets yesterday.

Too many people will enjoy penning their biting postmortem's of this match, as if Murray's career is on the down slope, yet he has proved over the past month, especially in Toronto, that he can compete with the best. Whether a Grand Slam comes sooner or later will depend on Murray's attitude, for what was most disappointing yesterday was not that the Scot lost, but the manner in which he lost. When it eventually ended, and Murray made a speedy exit off court, there must have been palpable relief for British tennis fans that such a tortuous experience had at last drawn to a close.

Murray deals with Lacko, Berdych out

The Brit had all his synapses firing, and playing at about 80% in challenging conditions, he defeated Slovak Lukas Lacko in straight sets. While he was toiling in the New York heat, Tomas Berdych, the man who defeated Murray at Roland Garros, and the next highest seed in his quarter, crashed out to Frenchman Michael Llodra.

It makes Murray's run to the semi finals easier, and he should have no problems with his second round opponent. Dustin Brown, a Jamaican player, is ranked 123. The winner will face either Stanislas Wawrinka or the Argentinian Juan Ignacio Chela, and then probably Sam Querrey or Nicolas Almagro in the fourth round.

American John Isner or Mikhael Youzhny could meet the Brit in the Quarter Finals, but the eye-catcher in that part of the draw, is a potential third round clash between Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra, both Frenchmen, and current doubles partners. Both pulled off shocks to get to the second round, Llodra defeating seventh seed Berdych, Benneteau 29th seed Radek Stephanek.

Murray meanwhile played precise tennis, moving Lacko around the court with line to line groundstrokes, putting away anything in the mid-court, and generally mixing up his game. Every time the Slovak thought he had Murray measured, the Scot would show him a different shot, or mix it up with different spin. It was good enough to put away an opponent of Lacko's calibre, but it will be completely different if Murray faces Nadal or Federer. Yesterday's match was no real indicator of where his game is.

Men like Llodra, Querrey and Isner rely on their first serves, and Murray typically does better against those sort of opponents because he is such a good returner of the serve.

But against the top three in the world if you don't serve well you lose. If you don't put away mid court balls, you lose. If you don't hit the lines consistently, you lose. Toronto was a sighter for Murray, and will give him belief that he can beat both Nadal and Federer in the same tournament, but then that was a best of three set encounter. Five-setters are very different animals.

I worry about Murray in those situations, because his record in tie-breaks is not good. When he faced Andy Roddick for a place in the 2009 Wimbledon Final, what cost Murray was losing the last two sets in tie-breakers. Last year in Flushing Meadows he was dumped out in the fourth round by Marian Cilic. Hopefully the same will not happen this year.

For those who say the reason Murray has not won a Grand Slam because of the pressure heaped on him by the British media (English really) is utter nonsense. Can anyone point towards an instant where it was obvious he lost because of pressure. We've watched Tim Henman so long, we equate losing with too much pressure. Murray was outclassed in the two Grand Slam finals he has played against Federer. This year at Wimbledon, Nadal was in inspired form, while Berdych blew him away at Roland Garros. You talk about pressure, this is pressure. It is just an excuse built in by the English media to make some sense of national losses.

Murray is now a match for anyone on the tour, but first he needs to get to Friday, semi-final day.