Andy Murray may have been the forgotten man at the US Open but he gave Stefanos Tsitsipas a match to remember, forcing the third seed to grind out a 2-6 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 6-4 win on Monday to avoid the opening round shocker.

The buildup to Flushing Meadows had been about The Big Three – Novak Djokovic’s hunt for the calendar-year Grand Slam and the absence of Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal.

But Murray turned back the clock on Arthur Ashe Stadium court looking more like the player who won the 2012 US Open title than the injury ravaged 34-year-old.

“I’ve said it a lot over this last few months that I know I’m capable of playing that tennis,” said Murray, still fighting his way back to form after career-threatening hip surgery.

“I need to spend time on the court, getting the chance to play against these guys. I proved some things to a certain extent. Obviously didn’t win the match tonight.”

After reaching the final of the French Open, Tsitsipas arrived in New York and was ready to take that final step to become Grand Slam champion only to nearly stumble at the first hurdle, needing almost five hours in punishing conditions to see off the former world number one.

Cilic retires

Earlier, former champion Marin Cilic of Croatia retired from his first-round match against German Philipp Kohlschreiber with an apparent injury, his earliest exit from the US Open in 13 attempts.

The 2014 winner had been up two sets but bowed out of the match early on in the fifth with Kohlschreiber leading 2-0, after struggling with his serve.

It was Cilic’s first retirement in more than 800 career matches and the first time he had failed to make it past the opening round at Flushing Meadows, as he joined American John Isner as one of the higher-profile players to exit the tournament on Monday.

Kohlschreiber next faces Spain’s Pablo Andujar in the second round of the U.S. Open.

PHOTO/COURTESY

REUTERS