US Open 2015: Andy Murray targets instant returns as history calls for Brit Jo Konta
Britain’s Andy Murray plans to unsettle big-serving Kevin Anderson with the power of his returns as he bids to seal a place in the US Open quarter-final tonight.
World No14 Anderson has a clear weapon. The 29-year-old South African served 17 aces as he dispatched Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the third round at Flushing Meadows, taking his tally for the tournament to 69.
However, third seed Murray dispatched Anderson 6-3, 6-4 in little over an hour to win the Aegon Championships in June and attain the status of a four-time Queen’s Club champion, while his career record stands at five victories and one defeat.
French Open winner Stan Wawrinka is a potential quarter-final opponent, although negating Anderson’s potent serve remains the immediate priority for Murray, who was crowned US Open champion in 2012.
“They’re always tricky matches,” said Murray. “But getting a lot of returns in play is something that throughout most of my career I’ve been good at. Often big servers, they come into matches used to getting a lot of free points. If you return well it changes their mindset a little bit in the way they play the match and play the points. That’s why I think I’ve had good success against them in the past.”
World No97 Jo Konta, meanwhile, will bid to continue her remarkable surge in form against two-time Wimbledon champion and fourth seed Petra Kvitova at Flushing Meadows today. Konta is bidding to become Britain’s first female grand slam quarter-finalist since Jo Durie back in 1984.