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Andy Murray revealed after his five-set marathon at the US Open that he was walking on sore toes and would ask tournament organizers for “an emergency ice bath” to recover from his first-round win over Yoshihito Nishioka. .
“My toes are the worst part,” said the 2012 US Open champion after beating his first Grand Slam match in 20 months in nearly five hours. “The big toes are badly beaten. But I did well, physically. At the beginning of the match I was afraid to play a long match, your pace. You do that like a junior when you get into the seniors. “
Murray, who was beaten in five sets by Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open in January 2019 before undergoing hip rejuvenation surgery that kept him out of action for more than a year, was a shadow of his former me in the first two sets and survived a match point in the fourth before finally winning 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, (5) 7-6, (4), 6-4 in four hours and 39 minutes.
“Once I was down two games, I had to put the afterburners on and I got through,” he said. “I had to start hitting the ball better. I was running late and a bit hesitant. Then I took a risk and made too many mistakes. I didn’t have the balance. “
Murray added: “My body hurts. I need to recover as well as possible. I need an ice bath now, but they stipulate that you can only take one if it’s an emergency. I’d say this was an emergency, so I’ll go see if I can get one here right away, before I go back to the hotel. That was by far the most tennis I’ve played since the 2019 Aussie Open against Agut. “
Murray next plays 20-year-old Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, who had to fight for three hours and 51 minutes to overcome World No. 83 Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (6 ), 7-6 (6), while Britain’s Dan Evans advanced in straight sets against Thiago Seyboth Wild.
Contemporaries who have known Murray his entire career, and who have seen many of his comebacks, were nonetheless as stunned as the loser who saw his performance.
“Absolutely extraordinary,” said Tim Henman. “After four hours and almost 40 minutes, it is going to be difficult. Recovery in the next 36 hours is going to be very important and we’ll just have to see how he copes.
“What helped him overcome that was his heart. You can see their performance and the first two sets were very normal. Nishioka doesn’t have great service, but it’s awkward. Murray could only break it three times in five sets. That was part of his riddle. I had to find a way. But, as is the case when you’re such a big competitor, it’s not necessarily about which parts of your game are shooting, you have to find a solution. And Andy Murray did that again. “
If Murray and Evans win on Thursday, they will meet in the third round, a
proper battle of the British.
