One more point but one big loss for Andy Murray

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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Britain won 138 points, unheralded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco had 137. Verdasco’s comfort zone is more often slow clay courts than speedier hard courts like the ones at the Australian Open, and Verdasco had 50 unforced errors, 10 more than Murray, in Monday’s fourth-round match.

But it was Murray who was slapping his head in anger three times during the final service game as his shots sailed long, and it was Verdasco who had the upset win, 2-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Murray had been considered a a good pick to sneak off with his first major tournament title here, and he was muttering angrily to himself as he left the court.

One beneficiary of Murray’s upset could be veteran James Blake of the U.S. Later Monday, Blake is scheduled to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in another fourth-round match. Tsonga, seeded fifth, was a surprise finalist at last year’s Australian Open. Blake, 29, is seeded eighth and has never been past the quarterfinals here. The winner will play Verdasco in the quarterfinals.

Tsonga is aiming to become the second Frenchman to advance to the quarterfinals (Gilles Simon was the first), but he has been hobbling with some leg injuries. Blake said he trained hard this off-season to have a good result here.

-- Diane Pucin