An old treat
Andy Murray turns back time in rally from two sets down at U. S. Open.
NEW YORK — This is was the sort of match Andy Murray came back for, the sort of competition and comeback he always lived for, the reason he went through two hip operations and all the hard work that followed.
And it was the type of vintage Murray performance — undaunted by a deficit, adjusting on the fly, muttering all the way — that was too compelling not to watch, so while there are no fans allowed into this U. S. Open because of the pandemic, fellow pros made their way into the stands to see the popular 2012 champion save a match point Tuesday and, eventually, win.
Playing his first Grand Slam match in nearly 20 months, toiling on his metal hip for 4 hours, 39 minutes in Arthur Ashe Stadium, Murray put together his 10th career comeback from two sets down and beat Yoshihito Nishioka, 4- 6, 4- 6, 7- 6 ( 5), 7- 6 ( 4), 6- 4.
“It was pretty emotional straight after the match finished, when I got back to the locker room — sort of look at my phone, see the messages from family and friends, the team and stuff. They’re the people that have kind of seen me go through everything, been there, seen the tough times,” said Murray, who next plays 15th- seeded Felix Auger- Aliassime, a 20- yearold from Canada.
“I don’t know how many of us actually believed I’d be back kind of winning matches like that.”
Murray’s big concern after the match was whether he could get permission to use the ice bath in the Ashe locker room ( he later said he did).
“They said it’s for emergencies. For me, this is an emergency right now. My body hurts,” said the 33- yearold Murray, who was treated for blisters on his two big toes by a trainer during a medical timeout. “That’s by far the most tennis I’ve played since 2019, really.”
And so many of the sport’s biggest names were there to witness it. They included Novak Djokovic, Dominic
Thiem, Naomi Osaka, Garbiñe Muguruza and others, some noshing while sitting on the balconies of their personal “lounges” — Ashe suites that usually bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars but were assigned to seeded players because of the ban on spectators.
Murray’s lengthy victory was followed in Ashe by a straight- set win for Serena Williams.
“Usually when you’re waiting for a match [ and] someone is down two sets, you root for the person that’s ahead so you can get on the court and get off,” said Williams, who defeated Kristie Ahn, 7- 5, 6- 3, for her 102nd match win at the U. S. Open, breaking a tie with Chris Evert for most in the professional era.
“I was rooting for Andy the whole time. I really wanted him to win,” Williams said. “Gosh, when he was down in the third set, I was like, ‘ All right!’ I was just rooting for him so hard.”
Venus Williams, 40, lost in the opening round for the first time in her career. She had been 21- 0 previously in the first round.
Peters Township native Alison Riske won in straight sets in a late first- round match Monday.