Roger Federer brings down curtain on his career with a defeat, but still dazzles alongside longtime friend and rival Rafael Nadal at US Open
A few hours ago, when the lights went down on Rod Laver Arena and the world’s best players were set to take centre stage in the final in New York, Andy Murray was on the verge of tears.
It was a routine victory at Flushing Meadows which brought no more than a smattering of applause, as his opponent, Stan Wawrinka, fell to an 8-6, 6-2, 6-3 loss. But Murray – who is now a four-time US Open champion and a five-time Grand Slam victor – was still overcome with emotion.
The 27-year-old Scot was once again in tears, while Wawrinka was visibly struggling to contain his emotions as the tournament’s best players posed for photographs after their epic victory.
Murray and Wawrinka have become very close friends during recent years, with the Scot describing Wawrinka as someone he can always rely on. Wawrinka has been an idol for Murray’s younger brother Jamie.
“He is good to me,” Jamie said. “He has always helped me with my career.”
But now on the biggest stage, in arguably the greatest competition of them all, Andy and Wawrinka were not close to looking like friends after their contest.
The men hugged after their match, which concluded in a 2-2 tie, but Murray was clearly not too happy with his final opponent.
“I don’t know what was going on in his mind, but for my part I don’t like him,” Murray said, clearly referring to his rival. “To be honest, he just let me down today.”
The world’s fourth-ranked player had been the world’s number 1 for much of 2015 and had not been beaten since then until defeat in the Wimbledon final in July. His recent run of success had been built on his ability to match up well with world No 1 Rafael
