World number ten Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland made arguably the biggest upset so far at the US Open 2013 men’s tournament with a comprehensive three-set victory over defending champion and world number three Andy Murray of Great Britain 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to book his first career Grand Slam semifinal. The match took place on Thursday afternoon at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“It’s amazing for sure – especially here, especially after that match,” Wawrinka said during the on-court interview. “Andy is the defending champion. He’s a tough opponent. I’m just really happy. It was a crazy match for me. To beat him in three sets is just amazing.”
Seeded ninth in this tournament, Wawrinka had never progressed past the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam. He’s made it to the final eight in a Major three times in the past. He’s been consistent this season which saw him return to the world’s top ten and if he continues his amazing play, he could overtake compatriot Roger Federer as the top-ranked Swiss player by the end of the season.
Wawrinka could potentially meet top-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals on Saturday. Djokovic is playing his quarterfinal match later today against Mikhail Youzhny of Russia.
“I thought he played great,” Murray said. “That was the hardest part of the match. 5-4 game in the first set was important game. I had a chance to close it out; he had quite a few chances. I made a few mistakes. But I mean, for the most part I didn’t create break point chance, so he served well. He hit a lot of lines, was going for big shots, and he played too well.”
