Andy Murray and Yoshihito Nishioka gave fans around the world watching from home, one of the best matches of the 2020 US Open, as the Brits returns for his long-awaited return to Grand Slam singles tennis.
Andy Murray in the thrilling game against Yoshihito Nishioka, came from two sets and a break down against the Japanese to win 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Murray, whose last major singles appearance was at 2019 Australian Open before career-saving hip surgery, started flat and dispirited.
But he found his fight and saved a match point to set up a stunning win.
Andy Murray after beating Yoshihito Nishioka, will now face Canadian 15th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime or Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in the second round.
This year’s US Open is being played in an empty stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the ban on fans being allowed into sporting centres.
During the first two sets Murray barely berated himself for his five double faults and 30 unforced errors, seeming almost resigned to his fate before his energy levels – and his voice – began to rise towards the end of the third set.
And that was when Andy Murray began to look exactly like Andy Murray.
A roar greeted the blistering forehand that gave him two set points in the third-set tie-break and then he let it all out with a trademark “come on!” when Nishioka netted a backhand on the second.
The character that took him to three Grand Slam titles and the world number one ranking before his body so cruelly let him down shone through as he saved a match point with a crosscourt backhand at 6-5 in the fourth.
It would be nearly an hour later until he himself carved out his own match point, needing to recover from a break down in the fifth game of the fifth – which he did with a sumptuous backhand lob in the very next game – to stay on track.
When Nishioka sent a backhand out on match point, Murray completed his 10th career comeback from two sets down and answered any lingering questions about whether he could still be competitive on the biggest stage.