US Open: Wawrinka shocks Murray, Djokovic cruises into semifinals

Defending champion Andy Murray was the latest grand slam winner to be bundled out of the US Open and deny fans a dream matchup, while Novak Djokovic stayed the course on Thursday to complete the last four lineup.

Winds blew across Arthur Ashe Stadium but that did not bother top seed Djokovic, who defeated Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-0 to claim a berth in Saturday's semi-finals.

An eagerly anticipated renewal of his Grand Slam rivalry with Wimbledon winner Murray had already been spoiled after ninth seed Wawrinka of Switzerland spanked the out-of-sorts Scot 6-4 6-3 6-2 in their quarter-final.

The other semifinal will have French Open champion Rafa Nadal against eighth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

"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 semifinal. "I'm really working on my game."

Youzhny, the 21st seed, said the Serb had never given an inch. "Every point you have to play," the Russian said. "He never miss. He never give you some presents."

Wawrinka stepped out from the shadow cast by compatriot Roger Federer and into his first Grand Slam semifinal with a decisive victory over the Wimbledon champion, winning the battle from the baseline and the net.

The surging Wawrinka, who raised his 2013 record to 41-15 with the upset win, raised both arms in triumph after third seed Murray dumped a second-serve return into the net on match point.

"It feels amazing for sure, especially here," the excited Swiss said. "He's defending champion, he's a tough opponent. It was a crazy match for me. To beat him in three sets is just amazing."

Wawrinka broke the Scotsman four times and never faced a break point against a player noted for his ability to return.

The Swiss cracked 45 winners past a listless Murray and won 31 of 42 forays to the net in the one-sided match.

Murray admitted to something of a Wimbledon hangover after ending a drought of 77 years without a British winner since Fred Perry's 1936 triumph at the All England Club.

"When you work hard for something for a lot of years, it's going to take a bit of time to really fire yourself up and get yourself training 110 percent," the Scotsman said.

"That's something that I think is kind of natural after what happened at Wimbledon. But I got here. I got to the quarter-finals of a slam, which isn't easy."

Much more was expected of Murray, as it was for the other Swiss player that factored at Flushing Meadows - Roger Federer.

SEISMIC SHOCKER

Murray's loss was the second seismic shocker to strike the men's draw in the last two rounds following the straight sets dismissal of five-time US Open champion Federer in the fourth round by Spain's Tommy Robredo.

Robredo's rousing victory robbed fans of a quarter-finals match between Federer and Rafa Nadal that would have marked the first US Open meeting ever between the two champions, who have met 31 times elsewhere around the world.

Wawrinka's victory sank the possibility of a Murray semi-final against top seed Novak Djokovic that would have reprised their 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon finals.

Murray complained about the breezy conditions, but credited Wawrinka for playing a brilliant match.

"He played great. He hit big shots. He passed extremely well. He hit a lot of lines on big points. He served well. That was it," said Murray. "He played a great match."

Another upset was registered earlier when American twins Bob and Mike Bryan fell short in their bid to capture a calendar-year Grand Slam when they lost to Czech Radek Stepanek and India's Leander Paes in the men's doubles semifinals.

The top-seeded brothers, who won this year's Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon men's doubles titles, fell 3-6 6-3 6-4.

"We're very disappointed," said Bob Bryan. "We hate to lose and we knew what was riding on this match and the opportunity of what we could have accomplished."

The Bryans were hoping to become the first pairing to complete the calendar slam since Australia's Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman in 1951.

India's Sania Mirza and her Chinese partner Jie Zheng stormed into the semifinals of the women's doubles with a straight sets victory over fourth seeds Su-Wei Hsieh and Shuai Peng.

The 10th seeded Sania-Zheng pair defeated the current Wimbledon champions Su-Wei Hsieh of Taipei and Peng Shuai of China 6-4, 7-6 in exactly an hour and 50 minutes to advance to the last four stage.

Sania and Zheng will meet eighth seeds Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua in the semifinal.
 
Venus and Serena Williams knocked out the top-seeded women's doubles team at the US Open to advance to the semifinals.

The Williams sisters beat defending champions Roberta Vinci and Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-1 to move two wins away from their 14th Grand Slam tournament title.

Their victory in Armstrong Stadium finished less than an hour after Americans Bob and Mike Bryan had their quest for the calendar Grand Slam halted next door in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Serena Williams, looking for back-to-back singles titles, plays her semifinal on Friday against Li Na.

The sisters play their next doubles match against Czech pair Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka.

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