Andy Murray suffered further Grand Slam frustration with a four-set loss to Matteo Berrettini in the third round of the US Open.
Murray was trying to reach the last 16 in one shot for the first time since his hip problems began in 2017 but, after threatening another epic comeback, fell to a 6-4 defeat 6 -4 6-7 (1) 6-3. at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Scot is at least working his way up the rankings and should reach his highest mark since May 2018 at around 43, but his ambitions remain much bigger than that and this is another season in which he has not able to make a mark on the biggest stage.
Murray had spoken positively about his fitness and movement after dropping just one set in his first two matches to advance to the third round in New York for the first time since 2016. It was a real step up, though. come in. Berrettini has had injury and illness issues this year, but is a proven player at slams in particular.
He had reached at least the quarter-finals of the last four major tournaments he has played, although he missed the French Open this year after hand surgery and then Wimbledon, where he reached the final last summer, after a bad time of Covid. -19.
There was little to choose between the pair in the first set, but a Murray double-fault on break point in the seventh game proved the decisive moment. The Scot recovered from an early break in the second and looked to be gaining ground from the baseline only to be broken again to double fault, this time at 4-4. Murray threw his racket back at his chair in disgust as he found himself staring at a two-set deficit.
The 35-year-old had not fought back from two sets to win a match since a clash with Yoshihito Nishioka here two years ago, which he admitted this week took him months to recover from. He dug in admirably at the start of the third, saving five break points in his first three service games, and Murray screamed with delight as he withstood more pressure to hold for 6-5.
And he got his reward for that tenacity in the tie-break, with Berrettini picking a bad time to play his worst tennis of the match, losing seven points in a row. The comeback really looked to be on the way when Murray broke Berrettini’s powerful serve in the first game of the fourth set, but the Italian hit straight away and another lapse from his opponent at 3-4 was the final nail.