New York: Andy Murray made a spectacular return to the grand slam singles stage with a gruelling five-set victory in the first round of the US Open.
The Scot was two sets and a break down, and faced a match point in the fourth set, against Japanese World No.49 Yoshihito Nishioka.
But it was as if Murray, playing his first major singles match since undergoing career-saving hip surgery 20 months ago, had never been away as he put himself, his coach, and his opponent through the wringer.
The 33-year-old, who usually feeds off the tension of playing in front of a packed crowd, was as flat as the atmosphere at Flushing Meadows in the opening two sets.
But the fierce competitor eventually re-emerged, battling through two tie-breaks before finishing off the Japanese baseliner 4-6 4-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (4) 6-4 in four hours and 38 minutes.
Spain’s Garbine Muguruzal looked determined to overcome her US Open jinx on Tuesday, overcoming a sluggish start to collect a snappy 6-4, 6-4 first round win over Japan’s
Nao Hibino.
No 21 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova outlasted an inspired Kim Clijsters, who was playing her first major tournament since retiring in 2012, to reach the second round of the US Open.
Sumit Nagal in second round
Sumit Nagal on Tuesday stormed into the second round of the ongoing US Open. Nagal defeated Bradley Klahn of the United States 6-1, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the men’s singles first round at the US Open to progress further into the tournament. With this result, the 23-year-old Nagal has become the first Indian male to win a main draw match at the US Open in 7 years. In 2013, Somdev Devvarman had reached the second round of the Australian Open, French Open, and US Open. Returning to the Flushing Meadows where he took a set off Roger Federer, Nagal came out all guns blazing in the first two sets of the opening round match against Klahn as he registered comprehensive wins of 6-1, 6-3.