Murray in thriller as he muscles past Melzer

WHEN Andy Murray was growing up, it was his dearest wish to play a big match on one of the show courts at the US Open but after two consecutive, nail-biting matches on the Grandstand Court in Flushing Meadows, he will not care if he never sees the place again.

Murray reached the fourth round of the US Open by beating Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-7, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1, 6-3 but it was close, far too close for comfort. He will meet the Swiss 10th seed Stanislas Wawrinka next but it was some rollercoaster ride against Melzer.

The luxury of Hawk-Eye is only bestowed on the top two arenas in New York and those who are pushed out on to Grandstand have to make do with old fashioned technology and human error. And with the standard of line calling available on the court, this tournament ought to be sponsored by Specsavers.

In the previous round, Murray had complained bitterly about the officials on the far lines to the left of the umpire's chair. Yesterday he was complaining about the far lines to the right of the umpire's chair. Melzer, not to be left out, was just complaining. When Murray felt he had been robbed of a break point in the middle of the second set by yet another bad call, he stomped up to the umpire's chair and gave Emmanuel Joseph a piece of his mind. It was the opening salvo in a discussion that lasted for most of the rest of the match.

But the real cause for frustration in the Murray camp was the Scot himself. There were times when he showed flashes of brilliance, there were moments when he nailed a return – but there were not nearly enough of them. Usually the better shots came when Murray's frustration got the better of him, he stopped fretting about everything around him and simply belted the ball. More often than not, it was a winner.

Melzer, though, can infuriate anyone. A left hander with a big serve, a lot of muscle and a willingness to come to the net, he can mix it with the best on his day. And yesterday was one of his days. For much of the first three sets, he served better than Murray, he was more consistent than Murray with fewer unforced errors and had a better grasp of his game plan than Murray. He even swore better than Murray when it was his turn to have a rant to Joseph.

"He was playing really, really well," acknowledged the Scot. "He was serving close to the lines and hitting the ball so hard and flat and very deep. He was taking a lot of risks and was going in for the most part. I just had to try and hang on.

"The guy played great but it happens sometimes. I'm not that good a player that I can just blitz guys. I said it was going to be a difficult match, and he's very talented. It's tough to get in a rhythm when a guy is taking every ball on the rise, and coming to the net and mixing his serve around. He was playing well.

"When you're training and wondering why you do all the work and feeling sorry for yourself, and you kind of push through and keep working, then when you have moments like that on the court, you feel like it's all worth it."

From a reasonably positive start with the odd sniff of a chance here and there Murray slowly tied himself up in knots. It was as if he was trying too hard, often trying the most outrageous shot in his repertoire when the more straightforward option would have won the point. When he lost the second set, he attempted a volley that was doomed to failure from the moment it left his racket strings and yet he could have put the ball almost anywhere else on the court. It was that sort of day for the Scot.

Yet Murray is nothing if not a cussed soul and a born fighter. Launching a bid for a place in the second week of a grand slam from two sets down is not a play for those of a nervous disposition but Murray has made it his trademark this summer, roaring his way to victory against Richard Gasquet from just such a deficit at Wimbledon.

Trying the tactic again, he finally got the breakthrough he craved after more than two hours by breaking the Melzer serve to take a 3-2 lead in the third set. Punching the air and dancing back to his chair, he had given himself a glimmer of hope by converting a break point chance. Nine had gone begging but at last one of them had gone his way.

Even so, the crisis was not over and three games later Murray was back in trouble, facing three break points of his own. For once, Melzer let him off the hook with a couple of backhand errors but two games later, as Murray was serving for the set and holding a set point, he caught the Scot with the old drop-shot-and-lob combo and Murray's lead was wiped out.

Forced into the tiebreak, he scrapped to give himself a chance of another set. Earning a set point with a 138mph ace, he moved into the fourth set with the clock ticking towards three hours. After all that effort and all that tension, it was – at last – game on for the Scot. As he raised his levels, so Melzer dipped slightly and suddenly the balance of power was shifted.

Melzer threw the fourth set away and by the fifth he was all but exhausted and took a medical time out to have his legs massaged back into life. Meanwhile Murray, after all his hard work in the gym and on the practice court, was still very much ready for the fight and was still on his toes to make the most of Melzer's mistakes. As the Austrian fired a tired forehand over the baseline, he was broken and went 4-3 down. There was no way back from there and after 3hrs 52mins Murray had wrapped it up.

Flexing his biceps, just as he had after beating Gasquet in five sets at Wimbledon, he was into the fourth round and an appointment with Wawrinka tomorrow. Whether his followers' nerves can stand another Murray spectacular is another matter.