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| Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York Date: 30 August-12 September |
| Protection: Each day radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Reside Sports activities Additional/BBC Sport web site and app, with chosen dwell textual content commentaries and match experiences on the web site and app |
Andy Murray produced his best show in 4 injury-disrupted years however fell agonisingly in need of beating Greek world quantity three Stefanos Tsitsipas in an exhilarating begin to the US Open.
The British former world primary performed in a fashion paying homage to his finest as he led by two units to at least one.
However Tsitsipas fought again to win 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 3-6 6-3 6-4 in New York.
Dan Evans is the one Briton by way of after defeats for Heather Watson, Harriet Dart and Cameron Norrie.
Johanna Konta withdrew from her first-round match due to a thigh harm, which means teenager Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter – who play on Tuesday – are the nation’s final remaining hopes within the ladies’s singles.
Murray, like so typically prior to now, was the British participant who stole a lot of the consideration on the opening day of the ultimate Grand Slam of the 2021 season – even in defeat.
Now ranked 112th on the earth, the Scot was aiming for his greatest win by rating since his profession was derailed by a severe hip harm that left him dealing with retirement.
Fired up all through and relishing the magnitude of the event, 34-year-old Murray moved freely and harm Tsitsipas along with his high quality from everywhere in the courtroom.
A seismic shock beckoned earlier than 23-year-old Tsitsipas – one of many favourites for the title – maintained his focus and bided his time to win in 4 hours 49 minutes.
“It didn’t come simple to show the match round. I needed to make loads of sacrifices,” Tsitsipas stated.
After being irritated by Tsitsipas’ eight-minute toilet break earlier than the deciding set, Murray exchanged a terse handshake along with his opponent earlier than persevering with to loudly chunter “it is a joke” whereas he gathered his belongings.
Even the affectionate and rousing reception which accompanied the 2012 champion off the courtroom couldn’t cover his annoyance.
Murray reminds us why he won’t ever hand over
Defying the chances is one thing Murray has managed to do on a number of events lately, however beating an opponent of Tsitsipas’ standing over 5 units at a Grand Slam would have been a brand new benchmark.
Niggling accidents since main hip surgical procedure have continued to hamper his progress and, having performed solely 12 matches this 12 months earlier than the US Open, doubts remained about his probabilities of ever competing once more with the world’s finest.
Whereas Murray arrived in New York talking positively about his bodily state, he stated it was his recreation that wanted to be “in a greater place”.
Towards Tsitsipas, it definitely was. And at a stage the place it has hardly ever been – if in any respect – since Murray first developed the hip downside on the 2017 French Open.
Taking part in with freedom of motion and loads of energy, Murray’s high quality drew quite a few errors from Tsitsipas as he dominated the opening set and threatened to take a two-set lead.
A deft lob from Murray – a trademark backhand flick paying homage to the one with which he clinched victory for Britain within the 2015 Davis Cup closing – put him 5-3 forward within the second-set tie-break, earlier than a slip on a patch of his personal sweat might have bizarrely prevented him from going two units in entrance.
Soaked from head to toe within the humid circumstances, Murray turned irritated by his sodden footwear and, after seeing two set factors slip away, produced a double fault that helped Tsitsipas stage.
Surprisingly, Murray didn’t have one other pair of trainers with him – which means he even tried to dry his drenched ones with the air-con unit subsequent to his chair.
Murray’s stage dropped at the beginning of the fourth as Tsitsipas raced 5-0 forward earlier than guaranteeing the match would go right into a decider.
Extra drama got here when Tsitsipas spent virtually eight minutes off the courtroom earlier than the fifth set, leaving Murray livid and instantly a break down – from which he couldn’t get better.
“It is by no means taken me that lengthy to go to the toilet ever,” Murray stated to US Open match supervisor Gerry Armstrong.
Evans by way of in ‘brutal’ circumstances
Evans, seeded twenty fourth, appeared to battle bodily earlier than profitable 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-1 in opposition to Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro.
After lacking the Olympics as a result of he contracted Covid-19, 31-year-old Evans had misplaced 4 of his 5 matches since Wimbledon and waning as Monteiro levelled at one set all.
Evans wanted ice packs throughout the second set and had remedy on a foot after profitable the third, however raced to 4-0 up within the fourth set earlier than finishing victory.
Former British primary Tim Henman, working as a tv commentator, described taking part in within the warmth and humidity as “brutal”.
Evans will play American world quantity 64 Marcos Giron within the second spherical.
Watson, Dart and Norrie exit
Watson, 29, was overwhelmed 6-1 6-4 by Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan, whereas qualifier Dart misplaced 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-2 to France’s former world quantity 4 Caroline Garcia.
Watson, set to grow to be Britain’s top-ranked ladies’s participant following Konta’s withdrawal, has now misplaced all 10 of her first-round matches in New York.
Dart, 25, performed excellently within the first set however trailed by a break within the second when she needed to go off courtroom for prolonged remedy on what gave the impression to be a left leg harm.
Norrie, the twenty sixth seed, had reached the third spherical prior to now 4 Grand Slams, however was overwhelmed 6-4 6-4 6-3 by extremely rated Spanish 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest participant within the males’s high 100.
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