Murray was looking to reach the last 16 at a slam for the first time since his hip problems began in 2017 but, after threatening another vintage comeback, fell to a 6-4 6-4 6-7 defeat ( 1) 6-3. at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Scot is at least moving up the rankings and should reach his highest point since May 2018 at around 43, but his ambitions remain much higher than that and this is another season where he has failed to make a mark on the biggest stage. Murray had spoken positively of his fitness and movement after dropping just one set in his first two matches to reach the third round in New York for the first time since 2016. However, this was a real step up. Berretini has had injury and illness issues himself this year, but is a proven player especially at slams. He had reached at least the quarter-finals in the last four major tournaments he played, although he missed the French Open this year after hand surgery and then Wimbledon, where he reached the final last summer, after a botched Covid match. -19. There wasn’t much to choose between the pair in the opening set, but a double fault from Murray on break point in the seventh game proved to be the defining moment. The Scot then recovered from an early break in the second and looked to be gaining ground from the baseline, only to be broken again with a double fault, this time at 4-4. Murray threw his racket towards 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 down 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 superbly at the start of the third, saving five break points in his first three service games, and Murray shouted with delight when he withstood more pressure to hold for 6-5. And he got his reward for that tenacity in the tiebreak, with Berretini picking a bad time to play his worst tennis of the match, dropping seven points in a row. The comeback really looked set when Murray broke Berretini’s powerful serve in the opening game of the fourth set, but the Italian broke back immediately and another error from his opponent at 3-4 was the final nail.
