Braveheart Murray wins from two sets down
Andy Murray showed all his fighting qualities against Melzer
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Saturday, 30, Aug 2008 09:47
British number one Andy Murray came back from two sets down to sensationally beat Jurgen Melzer in the third round of the US Open this evening.
The young Scot was much the better player throughout but crucially failed to take the early break point and set point chances he created as he trailed 6-7 4-6. But Murray refused to throw the towel in and fought back to win 6-7 (5-7) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 6-3.
Murray threw away the first set from the palm of his hand after dominating throughout. The Scot looked comfortable on his serve and had no break points against him. He did however have two break point chances the sixth game of the set and failed to convert both times.
With a 6-5 lead, Murray had two set points on the Melzer serve, but he again lacked the killer indistinct and let Melzer off the hook. The British number one was made to pay for not taking his chances ad Melzer went onto win the tie-break and take the first set.
The second set was similar to the first as Murray continued to hold serve easily, but when he had a break point at 2-2, Melzer came up with a stunning forehand winner which Murray felt went long, but with no hawkeye on the court, Melzer held on to save his serve.
Murray continued to waste the chances he created and more sloppy play saw him throw away three more break points opportunities on the Melzer serve at 3-3.
Melzer had rarely threatened on the Murray serve, but three unforced errors from the Brit on the backhand handed the second set to the Austrian.
The British number one now had a mountain to climb, but looked to be on his way back when he took his tenth break point chance to carve out a 5-4 lead in the third set. But Murray once again threw away a golden chance to win the set as he wasted a set point chance and was broken.
Both men held onto their serves to send the set into a tie-break. Murray was 5-4 down in the break, but two bullet aces – including one at 138mph – saw Murray deservedly take the set.
It was completely one-way traffic in the fourth set as Melzer looked disinterested and tired which allowed Murray to run away with it 6-1. And the Murray comeback was complete in the decider as he broke Melzer twice, who was suffering with cramp, to wrap up a brilliant win.