Andy Murray displayed physical fitness and mental fortitude to stage a stirring comeback victory over Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round of the US Open. The British star found himself two sets down against a man nine years his junior, but dug deep and picked up a 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 win.
His fans reacted with jubilation and some commentators suggested that the former world No. 1 could enjoy a late career renaissance. However, the manner of his second-round 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 defeat at the hands of Felix Auger-Aliassime illustrated just how difficult it will be for Murray to return to the upper echelons of the men’s game.
The Scot looked thoroughly exhausted as he traded blows with the 20-year-old Canadian, and he could not create a single break point in the entire match. Auger-Aliassime was clearly in much better physical shape as he dominated play from the baseline. Yet despite the defeat, Murray can take a number of positives from the US Open.
Injury Woes
At the end of 2016, Murray had the world at his feet. He had finally knocked Novak Djokovic off the top of the world rankings after becoming the first player to win a Grand Slam, the ATP World Tour Finals, an Olympic gold medal and a Masters 1000 title in the same calendar year.
He was knighted at the start of 2017, but a hip injury caused him to miss several months of the season. He had surgery on the troublesome hip, but it proved to be unsuccessful. By March 2018, he had fallen to 839th in the world rankings.
In January 2019, Murray admitted that he might never play tennis again. He had just lost to Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open, and he was preparing for a second hip operation.
“If I go ahead with the operation and I don’t recover well from it, then I don’t play again,” said Murray. I’m aware of that. I know that I’m not the same player as I was. But, if today was my last match, it was a brilliant way to finish.”
Fitness Concerns
The British broadsheets all wrote glowing eulogies for Murray. Nobody expected him to pick up a racket again, but he made his comeback towards the end of 2019, and he has shown glimpses of the former that catapulted him to the top of the world rankings.
This year will be make-or-break for the Scot, who is now 33 years of age. He can draw optimism from his victory over Nishioka. Getting through a five-set match is no mean feat. He looked on the brink of defeat on more than one occasion, but he kept fighting back, and he should be proud of his performance.
Murray lacks match fitness, and he was understandably shattered by the time he staggered into his second round clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 15th seed is one of the most exciting youngsters on tour – he is among the favourites in the tennis odds – and he is the sort of player that Murray will need to beat if he is to stage a successful comeback.
Murray was swept aside on Thursday night in New York, but if he builds up his fitness levels it could be a different story next time they meet. “Physically, I actually did pretty well I thought in the first round,” he said after the match. “But I think the more tournaments that you play, the more matches that you play, you build up that sort of robustness in your body which right now I don’t really have.”
The Long Road Ahead
Murray is the same age as Novak Djokovic and younger than Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Those three men have dominated the men’s game over the past three years, winning every available Grand Slam. All three have overcome significant injuries and gone on to enjoy late career purple patches thanks to careful body management and a burning desire to outdo one another by clinching more success.
It suggests that Murray should not give up on his dreams of returning to the summit of the sport. A player in his 20s has not won a Grand Slam since Marin Cilic won the US Open in 2014. Cilic, Murray and Stan Wawrinka are the only players apart from Djokovic, Nadal and Federer to win a Grand Slam since 2009.
Experience counts in the men’s game, and the new generation has struggled to make an impact in the big tournaments. Federer and Nadal have skipped the US Open due to injury and coronavirus concerns, which could pave the way for a youngster to succeed, but Djokovic is the heavy favourite to steamroll all of his rivals.
The defeat to Auger-Aliassime provided a reality check for Murray and his metal hip, but it should inspire him to redouble his efforts. He has nothing left to prove, having enjoyed a remarkable career, but the competitive spirit still burns within Murray, and we should not write him off just yet.
“All you can do is try and keep improving from where you are,” said Murray. “I’m not in the same position that I was three years ago when I was in the latter stages of most of the events I was playing. I’m kind of back at square one. I’m ranked 115 in the world and my game reflects that just now, so I’ll need to get better if I want to move up the rankings and be more competitive.”
