SCOT AND PARTNER HUBER LOSE IN MIXED DOUBLES AT Flushing Meadows IN TWO SETS
Murray and Huber stumble at final straight in US
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Jamie Murray and partner Liezel Huber were beaten 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 by Leander Paes and Cara Black in the mixed doubles final at the US Open.
Murray and American Huber held two set points in the first set tie-break at Flushing Meadows yesterday but failed to take their opportunities and fell behind.
Paes and Black, the fifth seeds, then secured a crucial break off Murray’s serve before going on their way to victory in one hour and 20 minutes.
It was Murray and Huber's fifth grand slam together having reached last year's US Open semi-finals, when they were beaten by Paes and Meghann Shaughnessy, and the last four of this year's Wimbledon.
Huber, facing her women’s doubles partner Black ahead of their semi-final as top seeds against Spain’s Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual, needed to save two break points at 4-3 down in the first set to hold the favourites at bay.
The opening set progressed on serve to a tie-break with Huber and Murray, who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2007 with Jelena Jankovic, earning set points before Paes rallied his team to take a 1-0 lead.
The second set was more clear-cut with Huber and Murray broken to go 3-2 down, leading Paes to serve for the match at 5-4.
“We played great the whole week,” Murray said. “Last year we came here and it was our first tournament together and unfortunately we lost to (Paes) again in the semi-finals. We were so close.
“I guess I was looking for a bit of revenge today but it didn’t happen. But it was a great week.”
Paes has a chance to record a US Open title double when he and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic face America’s Bob and Mike Bryan in the men’s doubles final today.
Meanwhile Dinara Safina knows she will have to be at the top of her game if she is to stand a chance of beating Serena Williams and claiming a place in the US Open final.
The sixth-seeded Russian will face number four seed Williams in today’s semi- final, with the winner advancing to face either number two Jelena Jankovic or fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva in Saturday night’s final.
Safina has not played a top-15 player en route to this stage of the hardcourt major, but that will change when she goes head to head with Williams, who has eight grand slam titles, including here in 1999 and 2002.
While the 26-year-old Williams is the most decorated player remaining in the competition, Safina has been perhaps the best player on the WTA circuit in recently months.
The younger sister of former men’s number one Marat Safin has won three titles and reached the final in six of the seven events she has played since the start of May, winning 37 of her 41 games.
Williams, Jankovic and Dementieva are all guaranteed top spot if they win the tournament. Williams, who has won three and lost one of her games against Safina to date, is looking for her first grand slam title since capturing the 2007 Australian Open.
Serena reached the final four on Wednesday with an tough 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7) victory over older sister Venus.
Jankovic is the only player remaining who has never played in a grand slam final.
She will have her work cut out against Dementieva, who is also gunning for her first grand slam title.
