• What the Deuce

Murray's mysterious meltdown

Andy Murray suffered his first hard-court defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka since 2006 © Getty Images

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"I haven't been really tired in any long matches for a long, long time," said Andy Murray following his third-round defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka.

Nor has he succumbed to defeat so easily in a long time, at least not in a Grand Slam, as he suffered his earliest loss since his first-round exit to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the Australian Open in 2008.

After a lacklustre start, Murray overcame a 5-2 deficit to take the opening set on a tiebreak before racing to a 3-0 lead in the second. But just as it looked like Murray was cruising to a straight-sets victory and a fourth-round clash against Sam Querrey (who he beat at the same stage at Wimbledon), disaster struck.

After letting a break slip in the second set, he did it again in the third and was visibly frustrated - talking angrily to himself, his water bottle or anyone else who cared to listen as his game appeared to fall apart at the seams.

While his season has been plagued by inconsistency, Murray's performances at the Grand Slams were nothing to scoff at. A final in Melbourne, a fourth-round defeat on his worst surface at Roland Garros and falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals at Wimbledon suggested Murray was learning to peak at the right time.

Then a sublime performance in Toronto to defend his Rogers Cup title suggested Murray was back to his best and a genuine contender for the title in New York. After confident victories against Lukas Lacko and Dustin Brown in his opening two matches, it was all going so swimmingly.

Following his fourth-round defeat to Marin Cilic at Flushing Meadows last year, it later emerged Murray had been struggling with a wrist injury. And while the Scot received treatment during his defeat to Wawrinka, he refused to blame any injury for his surprise exit.

Whatever the matter was, it certainly wasn't the Murray that dominated proceedings in Toronto three weeks earlier. Something, or more likely some things, just weren't right. Both physically and mentally, Murray looked spent. He seemed unable to maintain his focus, and his body language had regressed to that of the stroppy teenager that he has managed to shake off in recent years.

Murray twice received treatment from the trainer © Getty Images

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While it remains to be seen whether Murray was fully fit during his first defeat to Wawrinka since 2008 - and his first loss on a hard court in over four-and-a-half years, he is almost certainly kicking himself.

This was his best chance yet. With top seed Rafael Nadal struggling for form on the hard courts and Roger Federer eminently beatable, Murray deserved his status as one of the favourites for glory at Flushing Meadows.

But defeat to the 'other' Swiss on the 'wrong' Sunday left Murray forced to wait another year for that elusive Grand Slam title.

He will now turn his focus to finding a new coach following his split with Miles Maclagan last month. While many questioned the timing of the decision ahead of the hard-court season, Murray showed no sign of crisis as he cruised to victory in Canada, but it was a different story in New York.

Murray lacked direction and focus on court on Sunday, and the first task of the new coach will be to conduct a post-mortem of his premature exit. While there is no doubting that Murray has the talent to win a Grand Slam, he is yet to prove that he has the stamina to win seven best-of-five-set matches over a fortnight - and that requires both physical and mental staying power.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.