Murray, the No. 4 seed, careened out of the tournament in the third round in his usual star-crossed fashion. Stanislas Wawrinka, the 25th seed, was the one who pounced on Murray’s weaknesses this time in a 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3 victory. Wawrinka struck 13 aces and 58 winners in grabbing control of a match as Murray lost his grip on it.

“He played better than me and that’s it,’’ Murray said. “In the third and fourth sets, I was struggling physically. I tried to find a way to come back. I have not been in that position for a very long time. Maybe that had something to do with it.’’

For Murray, it was another failure to shake the dark cloud that seems to follow him here. Aside from 2008, when he reached the final, many of Murray’s exits looked like this one: full of dispirited play and games in which he looked as if he wanted to be just about anywhere else.

Murray’s match capped an afternoon that otherwise passed without draw-rattling results.

Kim Clijsters, the No. 2 seed, started the day squashing any upset thoughts Ana Ivanovic might have had in their fourth-round match, charging through a 6-2, 6-1 victory in less than an hour. Venus Williams, the No. 3 seed, looked like the picture of frustration against Shahar Peer, but she was never in any real danger in a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory. And No. 1 Rafael Nadal went so far as to make his match against Gilles Simon look easy, something he rarely does at the Open. Nadal crushed Simon, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, in less than two hours.

In the evening session, John Isner’s trip to the Open ended in the third round, and it included none of the drama or history he created at Wimbledon. The 18th-seeded American, best known for winning the longest match in tennis history, lost to No. 12 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, despite pounding 33 aces at up to 144 miles per hour. His biggest problem: 61 unforced errors.

Fifth-seeded Sam Stosur won the latest-finishing women’s match in US Open history, erasing four match points to beat 2004 runner-up Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2). There were 15 service breaks in the match that took 2 hours 38 minutes to complete and ended at about 1:35 a.m. this morning.

Wawrinka took advantage as the match dragged on to nearly four hours. By the fourth set, Murray could control nothing, even on his service games. Tied, 2-2, and with Murray ahead by 40-30, Wawrinka unleashed a remarkable drop shot from behind the baseline that hit the sideline on Murray’s side of the net and spun sideways while Murray scrambled desperately to reach it. Wawrinka used the momentum to break Murray that game and rode that break to the fourth-set victory.

“He served very well when he needed it,’’ Murray said. “He just played a better match.’’

Wawrinka, 25, has twice reached the fourth round of the Open but has gotten no further in five appearances here. Murray, 23, has much higher expectations coming into majors, however, and his failure to win one will follow him again after this loss.

“You need to play well and play your best tennis for two weeks; that’s how you win one,’’ Murray said. “I haven’t done that.’’