PARIS, Nov 2: Andy Murray wasted a match point before being knocked out 5-7, 7-6, 6-2 by Polish qualifier Jerzy Janowicz following a sloppy display in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday.
Britain’s Murray lost focus as he served for the match in the second set and was then battered by the hard hitting Janowicz, who ended the contest with a forehand winner and collapsed in joy.
The world No 3’s defeat means that for the first time since the 2010 Paris Masters was won by Swede Robin Soderling, a Masters title will be claimed by a player outside of the Big Four.
As another energy-sapping season draws to an end, world No 4 Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer opted not to play in the French capital while Serb Novak Djokovic was dumped out of the tournament by American Sam Querrey in the second round on Wednesday.
Argentine seventh seed Juan Martin del Potro will also have a few extra days to prepare for next week’s ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 in London as he was beaten 6-4, 6-3 by local favourite Michael Llodra.
Spain’s David Ferrer, the fourth seed, was the highest ranked player left in the draw after his 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Swiss 16th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will also travel to London next week after securing his spot with a 7-6, 7-6 win over Spain’s Nicolas Almagro.
With Almagro out of the picture, Janko Tipsarevic completed the World Tour finals’ line-up thanks to his 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of Argentine Juan Monaco. Janowicz will next face the eighth-seeded Tipsarevic.
Czech Tomas Berdych, the fifth seed, recovered from a terrible start to down South African Kevin Anderson 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
He will next face Frenchman Gilles Simon, who advanced without hitting a ball after Japanese 15th seed Kei Nishikori withdrew because of an ankle injury.
Results (prefix number denotes seeding):
Third round: 4-David Ferrer (Spain) bt 16-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; 6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) bt 11-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3); Sam Querrey (US) bt 14-Milos Raonic (Canada) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); 8-Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) bt 9-Juan Monaco (Argentina) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Michael Llodra (France) bt 7-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 6-4, 6-3; Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) bt 3-Andy Murray (Britain) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; Gilles Simon (France) bt 15-Kei Nishikori (Japan) – walkover; 5-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
WOZNIACKI WINS AGAIN
SOFIA (Bulgaria): Already qualified for the semi-finals, top seed Caroline Wozniacki beat Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 to make it three wins from three at the season-ending Tournament of Champions.
Hantuchova’s aggressive start paid off in the first set, but the former top-ranked Wozniacki gradually took control in the second.Italy’s Roberta Vinci earned her second victory of the group stage by defeating Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan 6-1, 6-2, and also advances to the semi-finals from Group Serdika.
In the other group, Nadia Petrova beat doubles partner Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 7-6, 6-3.
Results:Group Serdika: 4-Roberta Vinci (Italy) bt 5-Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-1, 6-2; 1-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt 7-Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.Group Sredets: 2-Nadia Petrova beat 3-Maria Kirilenko (Russia) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.—Agencies