Andy Murray reacts
Andy Murray of Britain reacts after losing a point against Kevin Anderson of South Africa during their fourth round match at the U.S. Open Championships tennis tournament in New York, September 7, 2015. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Andy Murray, one of the top-ranked players in the 2015 US Open and one of the elite players in the tour, has been booted out in the fourth round of the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York. The player responsible for the upset of the third seed is South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, who pulled off the surprising victory in four sets, 7-6 (5) 6-3 6-7 (2) 7-6 (0).

Anderson was seeded 15th in this event but played better than the World No. 3 in key moments of the game. The South African was aggressive right from the opening set where he had 27 winners and 11 of 16 net points won.

“It's a tough match. That court is a lot quicker than Ashe. I felt like, you know, I was on the back foot quite a lot. Wasn't able to play that offensively,” Murray said via the tournament’s official website.

“But, you know, when you're playing against someone that's playing and has the game style that he does, you're always going to have to do, you know, a fair bit of defending, especially if he serves well.”

Anderson kept the pressure on Murray winning the second set behind 10 of 13 net points and two break points. Overall, Anderson had more unforced errors than Murray, 57-20 but Murray just couldn’t take advantage of 11 break point opportunities as he converted just three in the four and a half hour match.

Anderson, whose best finish at the US Open was reaching the last 32 on three occasions, in 2010, 2011 and 2014, now advances to the quarterfinal round where he will face fifth seed Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland.

“[Wawrinka] knows what it takes. He's been in that position. It's my first time, but I feel like I'm hitting the ball very well. I know what to expect going into the match,” Anderson said in his post-match interview when asked about Wawrinka. “It's just about giving myself the best opportunity and obviously trying to execute as best as I can."

Wawrinka has two Grand Slam titles under his belt winning the French Open earlier this year and the Australian Open in 2014. At the US Open the Swiss’ best finish came in 2013 when he reached the final four.

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