Andy Murray lost in the second round to South African Kevin Anderson. However, the following week, he won the 2011 Western & Southern Open after Novak Djokovic retired due to injury. At the 2011 US Open, Murray battled from two sets down to win a five-set second-round encounter with Robin Haase, but lost in the semi-finals to Rafael Nadal in four sets. Murray easily won the small 250-class Thailand Open, and the following week he won his third title in four tournaments at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. His opponent in the final was Rafael Nadal, whom he beat for the
2011 Australian Open wildcards in the men's draw. In an agreement with the United States Tennis Association, Tennis Australia gave one man and one woman from the United States a wildcard into the Australian Open. Tennis Australia also has a similar agreement with the French Tennis Federation. The Australian Open is promoted as "the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific"; one male and one female player from this geographical area was awarded a wildcard. The final wildcard was awarded to the winner of the Australian Open wildcard playoff, a tournament between Australian players, who do not receive direct entry into the draw. Below is a