It became a tough watch for those on Arthur Ashe Stadium supporting Murray, who remains a popular figure at the place where he won the first of his three major titles.Īfter falling a double break behind in the third set, Murray gave a gesture towards his team indicating he was finished and his troubles were encapsulated by a double fault on a third match point for 32-year-old Dimitrov.ĭimitrov, who reached the US Open semi-finals in 2019, will play German 12th seed Alexander Zverev in the last 32. Murray was always chasing after being broken in his first service game of each set, while he was only able to convert two of the nine break points he created. "Whether I was seeded or not here in the top 32, I don't think that guarantees I'm going to have a deep run either." Dimitrov tactics disrupt MurrayĪ lot of credit must go to former world number three Dimitrov - coached by Dani Vallverdu and Jamie Delgado, who both used to work with Murray - for executing a clear gameplan which set out to frustrate the Briton.ĭimitrov's backhand slice regularly took the pace out of the rallies, forcing Murray to trade from the back of the court and making the contest physical with some long duels. "If I want to have deep runs in these tournaments, I'm going to have to come up against players like Grigor," said Murray, who lost to fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Wimbledon second round. Having recovered from the injury, Murray played well in his opening-round win over France's Corentin Moutet but his level dropped considerably against the wily Dimitrov. Those ambitions were hindered by the Scot pulling out of tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati this month because of an abdominal injury.įalling narrowly short of the top 32 going into the US Open did not help his chances in New York. Going into the four Grand Slam events with a seeding would, on paper, make going further at the majors a stronger possibility. "If I stop enjoying that - or my results, my ranking and everything starts to go backwards, if in a few months' time I was ranked 60 in the world or whatever instead of moving up - things might change." I enjoy the work, the training and trying to improve and trying to get better," said Murray, who reached the Doha final in February and has won three titles on the second-tier ATP Challenger Tour this year. "I still enjoy everything that goes into it. The Scot reached the Australian Open third round in January and, after skipping the French Open, lost in the Wimbledon second round last month.ĭespite these setbacks at the majors, Murray has continued on an upward trajectory and recently moved up to his highest ranking since his comeback four years ago.
Putting together a run at a major was Murray's prime target this season as the three-time Grand Slam champion continues in the twilight of his career. Murray still enjoying 'the work' despite setbacks Alcaraz's US Open title defence continues with straight-set win.Boulter, Evans, Draper & Norrie continue British challenge."Maybe I need to accept the deep runs and everything that I felt I'm capable of, they might not be there." "It's obviously disappointing to not play how you would like. "It's unbelievably challenging to play at the highest level," he said. Murray, ranked 37th, has not reached the last 16 of a major since resuming his career after hip surgery in 2019.
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