OF ALL the grand slam events, the US Open is the ultimate endurance test. If it is not the heat or humidity that gets you, it is the scheduling. Or the traffic jams on the way to the courts. Or the spectators, who regard the tennis as a minor interruption on their way to the food courts or the bar.
Luckily for Andy Murray, he loves the atmosphere and he adores the city. And, after months spent sweating and toiling with Matt Little and Jez Green, his fitness trainers, he is more than ready for whatever the US Open has in store for him.
On Sa
turday he made his way past Jurgen Melzer to reach the fourth round 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-3. It was not Murray at his best – he could not get his service returns to work until the third set – but it was Murray at his most stubborn and belligerent. He was simply not going to lose to the world No48.
"It's tough when you have to sort of hang on in matches because you're not able to put any pressure on your opponent's serve," he said. "I felt that I was returning poorly and that's why he was able to dictate a large portion of the match. So I changed a couple of things on my returns at the start of the third set and it made a difference."
Murray made it all sound so easy and yet he had his ever-growing band of supporters on the edge of their seats for nearly four hours until it was over. Scotland's finest may be ready for the next encounter but his followers feel like wrung out dish-cloths – and there could be more of the same today.
Murray faces Stanislas Wawrinka, the No10 seed from Switzerland. Known as Stan, he has established himself in the world top 10 this year and won Olympic gold in doubles with Roger Federer a fortnight ago. The Scot has beaten his friend three times in four meetings this year but every match has been tight.
"None of them have been comfortable," Murray admitted. "He's a tough player and that's what you've got to expect against him. He's had his best year by far this year and that's probably why they've been difficult matches."
Wawrinka, too, had a five-set marathon on Saturday. He came through a tetchy struggle against Flavio Cipolla, a lucky loser from the qualifying competition, and was fuming when he thought the Italian was feigning injury. Against Murray, he knows he will have his work cut out but at least the Scot will give him a fair contest.
"With Andy, we have a very good friendship," Wawrinka said. "I know he is a fighter and sometimes you can win a game against Andy easily, but then he comes right back at you. So, he is difficult to read."
All that Wawrinka does know is that Murray will not fade away if the match drags on. After being criticised for his lack of fitness when he was a teenager, the Scot is now justifiably proud of his muscles and showed them off with Popeye poses after the Melzer match.
His fitness trainers have literally run their man to a standstill in order to prepare him for competition at the very top level.
"Running on the track is probably the hardest thing, doing 400m or 100m repetitions," Murray said. "The hardest session I've tried to do was to run five 400m inside 70 seconds with 70 seconds off in between. I did that just before Wimbledon and I did four of them and then didn't get up for 25 minutes."
With David Ferrer, the No4 seed, sent packing at the weekend, the draw has, in theory, opened up slightly for Murray. If he beats Wawrinka he will play either Juan Martin Del Potro or Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.
Del Potro is the man in form having won four consecutive titles this summer but he has never been beyond the third round of a grand slam before. The 6ft 6in giant would be another test of Murray's fitness and fortitude but as his biceps ripple gently in the breeze, he believes he is ready for anything – and first up is Wawrinka.
• Jamie Murray is through to the third round of mixed doubles at the US Open with American partner Liezel Huber. The duo took one hour, 19 minutes to defeat Czech pair Kveta Peschke and Pavel Vizner 7-5, 6-3.
Murray and Huber reached the semi-final stage at the US Open last year in their first event together.
The full article contains 783 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
