Murray defeats Wawinka in three sets but frustrates over fitness

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka faced off last night, both in the twilight of their careers. Fittingly, they served up a near three-hour classic in what could be their final meeting. There was a nostalgic feel when the two greats stepped out on court as we got a stark reminder to appreciate the golden era as it peters to an end. Two players who would have won a great deal more than three grand slams had it not been the cruel luck of sharing an era with the robot-like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

A tight first set battled out with gripping rallies, pristine Wawinka backhands and a dose of Murray magic. It was a fitting trip down memory lane. Murray serving 6-5 down and 15-40 had dug himself a hole, as the first break points of the set popped up. However, the nerves of steel that have been missing from the two-time Wimbledon champion as of late returned as he reeled off four points to force an opening set tiebreak. A nervy tiebreak it was, with Murray ending victorious and a foot in the next round.

The combination of recurring cramping issues on Murray’s side and a turn-up of the heat from Stan Wawrinka meant it was the Swiss who won the second set and went up a break to start the third. Although the former French Open champion had issues of his own calling the trainer to help with muscle soreness.

A scrappy final set that saw both players win more points on the second serve than the first serve reached a gripping climax. With Murray edging a break to serve 6-5 up, he suffered a first-serve penalty as he infringed the stop clock’s twenty-five-second limit. The Scotsman was less than pleased, although got the job done on his fourth match point.

Don’t be blinded though. While a cracker was served yesterday with plenty of drama and excitement, both former US Open champions remain a long shot of title contenders. At times off the pace, with fitness struggles in the first round of a tour event, how can you expect to last a grueling 5 setter fortnight in the heat of New York?

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Murray highlighted his cramping issues saying “When you’re cramping, you need to try to relax because you don’t want to be playing long points. Whenever I had the chance, I tried to play aggressive, get him defending a little bit. Because on this court, with the speed of the court, how lively it is, I was having to do lots of running when I wasn’t doing too much with the ball so going for my shots worked for me.”

“I started to feel it a little bit the middle of the second and then yeah, was struggling at the beginning of the third. (I) Tried to get as many electrolytes and salt, obviously saw the physio a little bit which helped. But I struggled with the cramps in Washington a couple of weeks ago against Ymer and again today so need to get on top of that.”

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In a British square-off tomorrow, Andy Murray faces Cameron Norrie in the last thirty-two. The only ever meeting between the two was at 2019 Bejing with Murray reigning victorious.

Elsewhere in tennis, Serena Williams kicks off her final WTA 1000 tournament tonight against last season’s US Open champion Emma Radacannu. While Nick Kyrigios, Coco Gauff, Simona Halep and Venus Williams get their campaigns underway.