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'Champions are special': Andy Murray's US Open feat sends fans bonkers

Andy Murray (pictured left) looking dejected and tired and (pictured right) celebrating with a fist-pump.
Andy Murray came from two-sets down and being exhausted to winning in five-sets. (Getty Images)

Former champion Andy Murray produced an astonishing fightback to outlast Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka to advance to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday.

In his long-awaited return to grand slam singles action, the former world No.1 had to call on all of his reserves before winning 4-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.

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The 33-year-old Briton, contesting a singles match at a major for the first time since the 2019 Australian Open, appeared to be heading for an early exit as a fearless Nishioka outplayed him for two sets at a virtually empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Yet as he has so often done in his career Murray simply refused to accept defeat.

Desperately trying to spark himself into life, Murray recovered from a break down in the third set and saved a match point late in the fourth.

At the start of the fifth set he required treatment on his battered toes and then slipped a break behind again before roaring back to finally crush 49th-ranked Nishioka's spirit and claim victory in four hours 38 minutes.

It was Murray's 10th win from two sets down and showed that despite undergoing two hip surgeries, he remains one of the sport's great warriors.

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Fans rightfully hailed Murray for his never-say-die attitude.

Murray admitted after the match that he was feeling the strain of a five-set thriller.

"I'm tired, my toes are the worst part, my big toes are pretty beat up," Murray, whose emotional defeat in five sets against Roberto Bautista Agut in Melbourne in 2019 looked like ending his career, said on court.

"At the beginning I was apprehensive about playing a long match because I've not played one for a while and I was sort of pacing myself. But when I was two sets down I managed to put the afterburners on and managed to get through."

Murray will have to recover quickly as his next opponent could be Canadian 15th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He said his first job was to try and find an ice bath.

"They have one in the locker room but that's supposed to be for an emergency. This is an emergency," Murray said.

Earlier No.2 seed Dominic Thiem advanced as Spaniard Jaume Munar retired after dropping the first two sets.

Thiem, who reached his third grand slam final at this year's Australian Open where he lost to Novak Djokovic, was leading 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 when Munar ended the match.

Up next for Thiem will be India's Sumit Nagal, who beat Bradley Klahn 6-1 6-3 3-6 6-1 to become the first Indian man to win a match at the US Open in seven years.

Some of the seeded players to negotiate a safe passage to the next round, include Roberto Bautista-Agut (8), Andrey Rublev (10), Karen Khachanov (11), Grigor Dimitrov (14) and Milos Raonic (25).