Defending Champ Murray Shocked by Chardy in Cincy

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Defending Champ Murray Shocked by Chardy in Cincy

By Chris Oddo

(August 16, 2012)--Andy Murray may be suffering from a gold medal hangover after all. Whatever it is, it was not good enough to get Murray past lucky loser Jeremy Chardy in third-round play at the Western and Southern Open on Thursday.

Chardy's 6-4, 6-4 upset victory was his first over the Scotsmen in five tries. The Frenchman, who reached his second career Masters quarterfinal with the victory, will face Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals.

For Murray, who many have tipped as their US Open favorite, he'll get the chance to begin his practice sessions for the final Grand Slam of the year a little sooner than expected.

The loss, while unexpected, hasn't crushed Murray's confidence. "I won't play any more matches [before the US Open]," said Murray afterwards. "Sometimes I've won tournaments in the buildup and it hasn't helped me; this year Wimbledon I lost in the first round at Queen's and made the final there for the first time. I have won Queen's before and not done well at Wimbledon. So it doesn't normally have that much bearing. But, you know, obviously I would have liked to have done a bit better this week."

Murray was broken once in the first set, and failed to convert each of the two break he had against the hard-hitting Frenchman.

"I don't know. Sometimes a few games can change matches," said Murray. "[I] Had breakpoints in the first set. If I had maybe gone up there maybe I would have started to play better, but when I went behind he started serving better, and he was going for his shots."

Much to Murray's chagrin, the second set was a wild, chaotic affair that saw the second seed commit 16 unforced errors and surrender breaks in his first three service games. Chardy notched the first hold of the set to lead 4-2, then, after walloping a couple of impressive forehand winners, had a break point to lead 5-2.

Murray saved those points, but his chance to draw even in the set was stymied when a Chardy passing shot clipped the tape to elude an in-position Murray.

Murray angrily tossed his racquet into the net, and Chardy held on for a 5-3 lead.

After another Murray hold, World No. 38 Chardy served out the set for what may have been the biggest win of his career. The Frenchman came into 2012 with a 4-15 against the ATP's top ten. After losing his first match of the season to top ten opposition, Chardy has now won two in two weeks (d. Tsonga, d. Murray).

Fish Finally Beats Stepanek

American Mardy Fish set up a quarterfinal date with Roger Federer when he defeated Radek Stepanek for the first time in five matches on Thursday, with a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Fish hit seven aces and only lost seven point on his first serve in the one-hour and thirty-four minute affair.

"That was the monkey jumping off my back," Fish told reporters after the match. "No, he's been a very tough opponent for me over the years. Not only has he beaten me, he's beaten me pretty soundly most of the time. I certainly felt good."

Federer Dumps Tomic in Straight Sets

Roger Federer has yet to lose a set in two matches at the Western and Southern Open. Today Federer made short work of 19-year-old Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and two minutes.

"It's obviously a tough tournament to come back at, because conditions are so quick," said Federer, "so it's always hard to judge your game. But overall I'm happy."

Federer did not face a break point on the afternoon, despite a less-than-stellar 56 percent first serve percentage. "Serve was a bit off I thought at times today, but overall it was a good performance."

Federer, a four-time champion at this event, defeated Fish in the Cincinnati final in 2010, and owns a 7-1 record against Fish with his only loss to the American coming at Indian Wells in 2008.

Elsewhere:

Juan Martin del Potro suffered an injury scare against Viktor Troicki today, when he felt pain in his left wrist and had to seek the attention of a trainer early in the first set. He recovered, but hardly used his left hand, choosing to hit a slice backhand for the remainder of his 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-1 victory.

Marin Cilic defeated Pablo Andujar 7-6(4), 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals. He will play wither Novak Djokovic or Nikolay Davydenko on Friday.

(Photo Credit: Getty)