The US Open is getting close to the end and with the semifinals coming up very soon, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic appear to be on a course to meet, but after defeating Andy Murray in the quarterfinals, can Stanislas Wawrinka crash the party and upset Djokovic?
Wawrinka played a fantastic match against Murray on Thursday, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 over the defending champion to advance to his first Grand Slam semis. The match was not a good one for Murray, who looked overmatched and sluggish on the court and now a finals with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is a real possibility.
Wawrinka has been playing some of the best tennis of his career and he could end up crashing the party by defeating Djokovic, who has also looked fantastic at the Open. Murray was defending a slam for the first time in his career and many felt that the reason for his poor play was coming back after his win from Wimbledon, which is the pinnacle for any British player, making the next tournament a challenge no matter what it was.
The weather was a factor as well with windy conditions and now Wawrinka will move on farther than he has in his career up until this point. Murray has played very well this year, but it was not his day on Thursday in Flushing and now he will have to wonder what might have been. Murray was visibly frustrated with himself and even broke a racket at one point and he was totally dominated on his serve and also did not play well against Wawrinka's, never getting a break point in the entire match.
Djokovic moved on easily as well, defeating Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 in a match that was never really in question and now he is in the semis for the 14th time in slams. Djokovic and Nadal are the favorites to make the finals, but Wawrinka could be a dark horse the way he is playing and that would be a very interesting surprise.
"I'm always trying to play my best tennis in the grand slams," said world number one Djokovic, who reached his 14th consecutive grand slam semi-final. "I'm really working on my game."
