NEW YORK — It was standing-room only in a small secondary interview room Saturday.
The world’s top-ranked men’s player, Rafael Nadal, was holding his postmatch news conference nearby, but reporters crowded around a woman ranked No. 188 instead.
Julie Coin’s magical run at the U.S. Open had just ended. On Thursday, the Frenchwoman stunned top-seeded Ana Ivanovic. It was the first time since the WTA computer rankings started in 1975 that a woman ranked so low beat a reigning world No. 1.
Coin lost 6-4, 6-4 in the third round Saturday to countrywoman Amelie Mauresmo, the No. 32 seed.
Coin said she was tired, and perhaps all the extra obligations after her huge victory contributed to that. Eventually, she will reflect on the magnitude of what she accomplished.
“Right now, I’m just thinking about the loss,” she said. “I’m not thinking about the rest.”
Mauresmo is 3 1/2 years older than the 25-year-old Coin, and the two don’t know each other well. When they chatted in the locker room the other day, it was the first time since they were junior players.
“She said, ‘You were 12, so you’ve changed a lot,’ ” Coin said.
Young blood.
Nadal, the 22-year-old No. 1 men’s seed, is hardly the only young player in his half of the draw. Six other men younger than 24 have reached the fourth round on his side of the bracket, and two more could join them.
Nadal’s next opponent is 20-year-old American Sam Querrey. Also alive are Stanislas Wawrinka (23), Gael Monfils (21), Andy Murray (21), Juan Martin del Potro (19) and Kei Nishikori (18), who became the first Japanese man to reach the fourth round in the 40-year Open era.
The young guys are providing some showmanship. Monfils, who grew up admiring NBA players, hit a shot through his legs at one point, though the ball went into the net. He insisted the circus shot was out of necessity and not planned.
Murray comes back.
Jurgen Melzer of Austria, ranked No. 48 in the world, had a two-set lead on No. 6 seed Andy Murray and a chance to close out the match in a tiebreaker. But when he couldn’t put it away, Murray went on to win 12 of the last 16 games for a five-set victory.
Murray squeaked into the fourth round with a 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-4 win. He also rallied from down 2-0 in the fourth round at Wimbledon this year to beat Richard Gasquet.
The Associated Press
