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By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday August 17, 2022

 
Andy Murray

Andy Murray had his chances but failed to capitalize against Cam Murray on Wednesday in Cincinnati.

Photo Source: TTV

Andy Murray has come up short of his oft-stated goal of being seeded at the US Open, and the two-time Cincinnati champion, ranked 47 this week, continues to take two steps forward and one step backward this summer.

Tennis Express

On Wednesday he lost a winnable match against 11th-ranked Cameron Norrie, failing to protect a one-set lead and missing out on pivotal break points that would have put him ahead 4-2 in the final set.

Instead, Murray capsized down the stretch, yielding to cramps for the second time in as many matches in Cincinnati, and for the fourth time this summer.

"I've struggled a little bit physically since Wimbledon, actually," Murray said on Monday after defeating Stan Wawrinka in three sets. "Yeah, something I need to work out with my team in the next couple of weeks."


He left the court in agony, with trainers attending to him after his 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 loss. It could have gone differently, but the fact that Murray’s fitness is plaguing him makes his chances of making a splash at the 2022 US Open look even slimmer.

Murray says the cramping is concering because it has been happening regularly this summer.

"I think pretty much every tennis player in their career has cramped usually in these sorts of conditions that we have had and sort of Newport, Washington, and here," he said. "But the consistency of it for me is a big concern. You know, it's not something that I have really experienced. I have experienced cramping but not consistently like over a number of tournaments. Yeah, big concern for me, because, you know, it's not easy to play, you know, when it gets bad like it was at the end. Yeah, I feel like it had an impact on the end of the match."

Murray, who says the cramps for him have been predominantly in the legs, says he and his team are working hard to find solutions.

The 35-year-old has made strides in 2022, as he has taken his place inside the top-50 for the first time in four years, but he has failed to back up his biggest wins and has not been able to make a deep run this summer, after stating that his main goal was to pick up a big chunk of ranking points on the road to the US Open so that he may avoid being drawn to face on of the top seeds in the first or second round.

It’s not all bad for Murray, and improvements are being made. At many times on Wednesday he looked the better player against the talented Norrie, and if it wasn’t for a patch of nerves in the third set he may have avoided the narrow loss.

But there are doubts as the US Open approaches.

Meanwhile Norrie advances to the round of 16, where he’ll face either Casper Ruud or Ben Shelton. The British No. has earned his spot, and he earned his victory on Wednesday, biding his time and using his fitness to his advantage.

 

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