Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas outlasted three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in a five-set US Open first-round thriller on Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Tsitsipas defeated the 112th-ranked British star 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in an atmosphere more like an intense second-week showdown than a curtain-raiser for the fortnight.
“It didn’t come easy,” Tsitsipas said. “Lots of sacrifices I had to make on the court to get back.”
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, would have been the lowest-ranked player to beat a top-three rival at the US Open since the rankings began in 1973.
Two-time Olympic champion Murray, the 2012 US Open and 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon winner, lost for the first time in 15 first-round US Open matches despite cheers in a nearly full venue.
“To have an electric atmosphere out here is something we’ve been waiting for for almost a year,” Tsitsipas said.
Tsitsipas, this year’s French Open runner-up, took a long break before…