World No 3 British tenni player admits his frustration en route shock 7-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 loss to South African Kevin Anderson in US Open pre-quarters
Beaten & broken: World No 3 Andy Murray is seen breaking his racquet in a series of pictures (1 to 4) en route his pre-quarter-final defeat to South Africau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s Kevin Anderson in the US Open on Monday night
New York: Andy Murray tumbled out of the US Open and was one racquet down after losing his temper during the fourth-round defeat to Kevin Anderson.
Beaten & broken: World No 3 Andy Murray is seen breaking his racquet in a series of pictures (1 to 4) en route his pre-quarter-final defeat to South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the US Open on Monday night. Pics/AFP
The Scot let out a string of expletives during the break between the second and third sets, seemingly frustrated by the time Anderson was taking in a break off the court.
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Then after dropping serve in the third set, he smashed a racquet on the court, breaking it beyond repair and handing it to a spectator as an unexpected souvenir.
Speaking about the tension in the match, Murray later said: "In the second set I felt like I was starting to put pressure on him there. When I had the break point at 5-3, I had a backhand pass that I should've made.
"When you're playing against players that are at that level, like him, you need to obviously make them think and then give them a chance to get nervous.
South African Kevin Anderson celebrates his US Open win over Andy Murray
The beginning of the fourth set, as well, I think it was his first service game, I had 15-all, hit a drop shot, mid-court forehand, then ended up winning the next couple of points.
"I felt like I had my opportunities there but didn't manage to capitalise on them. When you're playing against someone as good as him, you know, it's tough."
Big-serving South African Anderson played the match of his life to win 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 6-7 (2/7) 7-6 (7/0).
Anderson has been helped by a sports psychologist and believes he has been able to keep his composure and focus in high-pressure matches because of that off-court guidance.
He said: "At this level, there's such fine details. I think a lot of the physical side, but I'm working on that.
But I felt just from the mental side, being as neutral as possible in these big match-ups, somebody just to talk through, sort of understands how I think has been a huge benefit.
I feel even though it's a gradual process, I feel like I'm on the right path and making good decisions."
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