Tsitsipas beats Murray in epic 5-set match at US Open
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas had to dig deep into his bag of tricks to avoid an upset and defeat former World No.1 Andy Murray in a memorable marathon match.
Tsitsipas needed almost five hours to finally edge out Murray, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in his first game of the tournament.
The 34-year-old Scot started the game looking like the champion who won the US Open in 2012, winning five straight games in the first set.
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The second set was tight, with Murray losing two set points. He overcame the setback and came back strong to win the third set.
But after four hours of playing in oppressive heat, the Greek took advantage of an early break in the fifth and steadily kept up the pressure.
Murray unhappy with Tsitsipas' bathroom breaks
Murray complained to the umpire about what he saw as an excessively long bathroom break by Tsitsipas before the decisive fifth set.
He believed that by taking bathroom breaks, medical timeouts and racket changes, the World No. 3 was able to influence what happened after the recesses.
The Scot expressed his disappointment loudly, and said he "lost respect" for the Greek.
Tsitsipas for his part said he didn’t break any rules, taking the two toilet breaks allowed during a five-set match.
It’s the first time in 15 appearances at Flushing Meadows that Murray has fallen in the first round.
Murray defeated Serbian Novak Djokovic at the US Open to lift his first major trophy in 2012. Tsitsipas has yet to clinch his first major title.