U.S. Open: Murray wins five-set thriller, Venus out
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Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates during his men's singles first round match against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrates during his men's singles first round match against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

Former champion Andy Murray produced an astonishing fightback to outlast Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 6-4 in his long-awaited return to Grand Slam singles action in the U.S. Open first round in New York on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old Briton, contesting a singles match at a major for the first since the 2019 Australian Open, recovered from a break down in the third set and saved a match point late in the fourth after losing the first two sets.

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

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrate during his men's singles first round match against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

Andy Murray of Great Britain celebrate during his men's singles first round match against Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

"I'm tired, my toes are the worst part, my big toes are pretty beat up," Murray said, "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." 

On the women's court, 24-year-old Czech Karolina Muchova took advantage of an error-prone Venus Williams to advance 6-3, 7-5 into the second round and hand the two-time champion her first opening-round loss at the tournament. 

Venus Williams of the United States serves during her women's singles first round match against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

Venus Williams of the United States serves during her women's singles first round match against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic during the 2020 U.S. Open in New York, U.S., September 1, 2020. /VCG

The 40-year-old Williams was 21-0 in opening-round matches at the U.S. Open coming into Tuesday but the seven-time Grand Slam champion was undone by 34 unforced errors at Arthur Ashe Stadium.  

Meanwhile, Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin produced a dominant display to dispatch Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday. 

(With input from agencies)