Aimee
For most seeded players in the United States Open, the opening matches are a chance to work out a few wrinkles, shake off some rust and become used to the swirling winds, the warm conditions and the speed of the courts.
But Monday, many high seeds and big names instead fended off calamity in a stream of matches that turned out to be more adventurous than expected.
At the head of that list was Andy Murray, who took a two-sets-to-none lead over Robin Haase of the Netherlands, only to find himself fighting relentless muscle cramps in his legs and back. Murray, seeded eighth and two years removed from winning his first Grand Slam title here, began grabbing various muscles in the third set. He paced in front of his chair instead of sitting during changeovers and did everything he could to keep himself in the match.
He finally won, 6-3, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5, as Haase seemed in nearly as much discomfort as Murray, although he was less demonstrative about it.
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“There were parts of that match that weren’t particularly pretty to watch, but I’m just happy to get through,” said Murray, who has had a tough season battling back from back surgery and has not won a tournament in more than a year. The unlikely trouble hardly stopped at Murray’s match. No. 2 seed Simona Halep found herself fighting off a challenge from an American college sophomore. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seeded ninth and playing great tennis on hardcourts leading up to the U.S. Open, dropped a set and needed a tiebreaker to win another in a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 victory over Juan Mónaco.
