Signing off
That’s all for now. Be sure to check back shortly for Kevin Mitchell’s match report and later in the week for more live coverage from Flushing Meadows. Thanks for following along with us.
Andy’s insight
“It was extremely tough,” says Murray, who won 18 of the final 23 games, during an on-court interview with ESPN’s Darren Cahill. “It was extremely tough. He hits the ball very, very well and he has fantastic timing off both sides. It’s very difficult to read where he’s going to hit the ball. Thankfully in the third set I managed to grab a break point.”
Murray wins fifth set and match!
Yet another unforced error off the backhand side makes it 40-15 and Murray will have a pair of match points. Crunches an ace down the middle and Murray is through.
Andy Advances: #Murray comes back from 2 sets down for the 8th time in his career to advance 57 46 61 63 61 #usopen http://t.co/0nTpNMVAJm
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 3, 2015
Updated
Murray breaks!
Fifth set: Mannarino 1-5 Murray* (*denotes next server)
A better service game from Mannarino here, but he goes break point down and his situation has managed to get even more dire. The Frenchman nets a backhand and Murray – now 7-for-24 on break-point chances today – will serve for a spot in the third round. Says @MonteithJon, via Twitter:
@BryanAGraham Andy Murray so cool under pressure tonight he has gradually drained the life out of his opponent #truegrit
— Jon Monteith (@MonteithJon) September 3, 2015
Updated
Fifth set: *Mannarino 1-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
Murray falls behind love-15 and starts yelling at himself, then rattles off three straight points to move within a point of a 4-1 lead. He misses on a backhand, but nails down the hold on the following point. Within touching distance now of an eighth career come-from-behind win from two sets down.
Fifth set: Mannarino 1-3 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Murray looked as if he took that game off as Mannarino holds at love. Perhaps a shrewd play for conservation with Murray holding a break lead in the fifth.
Fifth set: *Mannarino 0-3 Murray (*denotes next server)
An easy hold. Murray in complete control. Mannarino looking finished.
Murray breaks!
Fifth set: Mannarino 0-2 Murray* (*denotes next server)
A pair of Mannarino errors find him slipping quickly into a love-30 hole. And now he’s triple break point down. Feels criticial. Mannarino saves the first on an Murray error, but a first-ball error on the next point gives the break to Murray and he’s out in front in the decider.
Fifth set: *Mannarino 0-1 Murray (*denotes next server)
Murray opens the fifth with a double fault, but levels the score with a 125mph ace. Another ace, this one 120mph down the middle, makes it 30-15. A lengthy rally ends when Mannarino dumps a backhand struck on the run into the net, then Murray seals the hold with a service winner.
Murray breaks, wins fourth set!
Fourth set: Mannarino 3-6 Murray
Mannarino’s 53rd unforced error puts him down love-40 and Murray will have three looks at a set point. The Frenchman saves the first, but winds up gifting Murray the break and the set with yet another double fault. Mannarino with 16 unforced errors against six winners in that set, compared to seven errors and nine winners for Murray. And we’re headed to a decider.
Fourth set: *Mannarino 3-5 Murray (*denotes next server)
Murray just unstoppable on serve right now. Another elementary hold and Mannarino will serve to remain in the fourth set.
Fourth set: Mannarino 3-4 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Mannarino grinds out a hold, but it feels like one-way traffic on Ashe. Also, the plot thickens regarding the Eurosport situation. Julie Quist chimes in, via email:
Sky Murray ‘exclusivity’ must be a UK thing only. We’re enjoying the match on E’port 2 here in Denmark right now. And enjoying it!
Meanwhile, Edward’s come up with a practical viewing solution.
I hate Rupert Murdoch but that’s why I am now at the Cask & Barrel, Broughton Street (“Old Fartwell Ales A Speciality”)!
Makes sense.
Fourth set: *Mannarino 2-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
Another love hold for Murray, who is really dealing now.
Fourth set: Mannarino 2-3 Murray* (*denotes next server)
The most comfortable hold for Mannarino in what seems like an hour. Murray is not out of the woods yet, but it does seem as if he’s got the situation under control.
Updated
Fourth set: *Mannarino 1-3 Murray (*denotes next server)
The players trade points and it’s 30-30. Murray striking the ball a lot better here and he’s able to secure the hold. We’ve also apparently solved Edward Jones’s programming dilemma thanks to @wlm225 on Twitter.
@BryanAGraham sky have exclusivity re murray
— wlm225 (@wlm225) September 3, 2015
Murray breaks!
Fourth set: Mannarino 1-2 Murray* (*denotes next server)
More break-point chances for Murray as Mannarino falls into a 15-40 hole. He need not lift a racket to convert it as the Frenchman double-faults.
Fourth set: *Mannarino 1-1 Murray (*denotes next server)
A very quick love hold for Murray. Both players looking tired at the moment. Meanwhile, a programming note from Edward Jones in Edinburgh, via email.
I simply do not beleeeeeeeve it!
The utter herberts at Eurosport are showing a match between two unseeded players (Young, USA v. Bedene, GBR), on Court 17, in preference to showing Murray, GBR v. Mannarino, FRA on Arthur Ashe. There is no other option - apart from tiddleywinks and trampolining etc. on their other channels. What European tennis demographic would prefer Young/Bedene to Murray/Mannarino? Effing bonkers. Even the E’sport commentators are saying, “It’s an absorbing match rather than a gripping one...” (i.e. it’s total bloody rubbish).
No doubt the E’sport scum will be showing the Murray match in full replay tomorrow, but who wants that, when it’s virtually impossible not to know the result beforehand?
As someone accustomed to the comprehensive, multi-channel tennis coverage of the sainted tennistv.comchannel (which sadly doesn’t have access to the four Slams), I want to strangle whoever runs/owns E’sport. What should I do, Doctor?
In extremis, Ed Jones
Unlucky. Sounds like you’re stuck with us.
Fourth set: Mannarino 1-0 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Well, that escalated quickly. Three quick points for Murray on Mannarino’s serve and he’ll have three cracks at a break to open the fourth. But just when it looks as if the momentum had abandoned the Frenchman irretrievably, he saves all three – a pair of unforced errors by Murray followed by a deft drop-shot winner – to bring it to deuce. Then Murray earns a fourth break-point chance after an exciting point that ends when Mannarino misses a volley wide. Murray waves his arms to drum up the crowd as he walks back to the baseline. Mannarino saves it, but a Murray winner gives him a fifth chance. And Mannarino again wipes it out with an backhand volley winner set up by a drop shot. Murray sprays a backhand from the baseline wide to give Mannarino game point and he cracks a 123mph ace to secure the hold from love-40 down. He’s not done yet.
Murray wins third set!
Third set: Mannarino 1-6 Murray
Love hold for Murray and he’s forced a fourth set. It certainly looked as if Mannarino took off the rest of the third set after the break and clear change of momentum, opting instead to conserve his energy for another run at it.
Then there was this wonderful Simple Minds themed contribution from @Toniwater on Twitter.
@BryanAGraham Andy is at the "Waterfront" looking at the sea he must have forgotten "All the things she said" he's barely Alive & Kicking
— Toniwater (@Toniwater) September 3, 2015
Nicely done.
Updated
Murray breaks!
Third set: Mannarino 1-5 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Mannarino’s 12th unforced error of the set puts him behind 15-30. (He committed only 25 in the first two sets combined.) Now he mixes in a double fault and he’s down 15-40. Murray with two looks at a break point here. Mannarino saves the first when Murray pushes a return long, but a forehand winner from the baseline by Murray whizzes past the Frenchman. That’s a break, Murray’s third of the match, and he’ll now serve for the third set.
Third set: *Mannarino 1-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
Murray, working quickly, is serving lights out here. He rattles off three quick points and has lost only one point on his serve this set. But Mannarino keeps fighting from love-40 down and manages to push it to deuce. The Frenchman tries to pounce on Murray’s second serve but overcooks a return and Murray will have another chance to hold – and he does with a cross-court backhand winner.
Simon McMahon checks in, via email:
Evening Bryan. Murray struggling here, strangely subdued and out of sorts. He’ll find a way to win though. Won’t he?
It looks like he’s turned the corner, but Mannarino has not tapped out yet. Stay tuned.
Third set: Mannarino 1-3 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Mannarino with a comfortable hold followed by the rare change of shirt between games. Guess it couldn’t wait until the changeover.
Third set: *Mannarino 0-3 Murray (*denotes next server)
An easy hold for Murray, who seems to have righted the ship for the moment. Murray’s seven comebacks from two sets down: against Fernando Verdasco in the 2013 Wimbledon quarter-finals, against Robin Haase in the second round of the 2013 US Open, against Viktor Troicki in the round of 16 at the 2011 French Open, against Richard Gasquet in the first round of the 2011 French Open, against Jurgen Melzer in the third round of the 2008 US Open, against Gasquet in the round of 16 at 2008 Wimbledon, and against Andy Ram in a 2006 Davis Cup tie against Israel.
Murray breaks!
Third set: Mannarino 0-2 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Two double faults and missed forehand for Mannarino, who falls behind 15-40. A pair of break-point chances for Murray. A wonderfully played point by the Frenchman to save the first: he runs Murray from corner to corner before finishing it with an overhead smash winner. Then a service winner to bring it to deuce. Murray has converted just one of 10 break-point opportunities today. He’ll have an 11th chance now after another Mannarino error. This time a Mannarino misfired volley at the net gives him the break. Could that be the spark he needs? Meanwhile, Rob Lowe has some #analysis.
Right now, Andy Murray looks like an actor playing a tennis player in a movie about throwing a match. #USOpen2015
— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) September 3, 2015
Third set: *Mannarino 0-1 Murray (*denotes next server)
Easy hold at love for Murray, who has won seven matches from two sets down in his career. Only Todd Martin (nine), Aaron Krickstein and Roger Federer (eight apiece) have won more.
Mannarino wins second set!
Second set: Mannarino 6-4 Murray
An easy hold for Mannarino and surely the upset alert is on now.
Mannarino breaks!
Second set: *Mannarino 5-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
Well, if it wasn’t interesting before it sure is now. Murray sputtering away with error after error to fall behind love-40 and give Mannarino three break-point chances. He needs only one as Murray dumps a forehand into the net at the end of a lengthy rally. Mannarino to serve for a two-sets-to-none lead after the changeover.
Updated
Second set: Mannarino 4-4 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Three quick points for Mannarino, who’s only lost four points on his serve in this set. But he mixes in a pair of unforced errors and it’s quickly 40-30. A double fault brings it to deuce and Mannarino smacks the ball in frustration across the net, narrowly missing Murray and a linesperson. Then another double fault by Mannarino gives Murray a break-point chance. Bit of a collapse here for Mannarino from 40-0 up. But he bails himself out with his serve: ace, winner, ace. Still on serve in the second.
Second set: *Mannarino 3-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
Ninety minutes in and Murray still looking for a foothold. He answers Mannarino’s love hold with one of his own, punctuating it with a 124mph ace out wide.
Second set: Mannarino 3-3 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Elementary love hold for Mannarino, helped in part by a string of errors by Murray.
Second set: *Mannarino 2-3 Murray (*denotes next server)
Another hard-won hold for Murray, who at one point takes a ball to the back from point-blank range. From deuce a Mannarino winner sets up a break-point chance for the Frenchman but Murray saves it. Then Murray sprays a forehand and Mannarino will have another look at a break point. Murray saves it with a 112mph ace that Mannarino can only throw his racket at. Murray wrong-foots Mannarino with a forehand and he’ll have another game point and he converts it with a 123mph ace. Simple Minds playing on the stadium p.a. during the changeover, a little taste of home for Murray.
Updated
Second set: Mannarino 2-2 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Another relatively easy hold for Mannarino, who is not going away here. The Frenchman is giving Murray unpredictable looks, alternating pace and spin effectively. Very crafty tennis.
Second set: *Mannarino 1-2 Murray (*denotes next server)
Mannarino playing well at the moment, pounding another winner to put Murray behind love-15. But he rattles off three quick points, the third on a 128mph service winner, to move ahead 40-15. Mannarino pounces on Murray’s second serve to close it to 40-30, but the Scot crushes an approach winner at the net on the next point to secure the hold.
Second set: Mannarino 1-1 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Two quick points by Murray and Mannarino finds himself under pressure in a love-30 hole, but he rattles off three straight points, the last on a delayed line call that Murray bristles at, and he’s got a game point. The Frenchman seals the hold when a long rally ends with a Murray unforced error off the forehand side.
Second set: *Mannarino 0-1 Murray (*denotes next server)
Three quick points by Murray to make it 40-0 before Mannarino crushes a return winner from the forehand side. He’s clearly going for the lines on nearly every point. He then misses badly on a forehand to give Murray the opening game of the second set.
Mannarino wins first set!
First set: Mannarino 7-5 Murray
Mannarino with a pair of forehand errors followed by a botched overhand and Murray will have triple break point. Mannarino saves the first with an inside-out return winner, then makes it 30-40 with a forehand. A Murray error brings it to deuce and Mannarino’s saved all three! A Mannarino service winner gives him a set point but Murray saves it with a backhand down the line. Finally Mannarino stakes another break and set point. This time he converts it with an overhand smash. Game on.
Here’s a thought from John McEnerney, via Twitter.
@BryanAGraham waiting 4 the MMMM(MurrayMidMatchMeltdown)when he loses a few pts & starts screaming at himself, a full shot workout needed
— John McEnerney (@MackerOnTheMed) September 3, 2015
Updated
Mannarino breaks!
First set: *Mannarino 6-5 Murray (*denotes next server)
Mannarino with a half-chance here at love-15, but he misplays a shot on the next point to make it 15-all. Another backhand error by Murray tightens the pressure at 15-30. The Scot levels the score with a winner but then overcooks a forehand and Mannarino will have another break-point opportunity, one he easily converts with a sharply angled approach winner. The Frenchman will serve for the first set after the changeover.
Updated
First set: Mannarino 5-5 Murray* (*denotes next server)
The players trade points. Then Mannarino hits a winner followed by a brilliant cross-court backhand that lands inside the lines to make it 30-30. Another Mannarino winner followed by a Murray error gives the hold to the Frenchman.
Updated
First set: *Mannarino 4-5 Murray (*denotes next server)
Mannarino with a look at Murray’s serve after hitting a winner to make it love-15, but Murray rattles off four straight points, capped by a 102mph ace out wide that Mannarino had no chance of returning.
Updated
First set: Mannarino 4-4 Murray* (*denotes next server)
An unforced error by Murray gives Mannarino the early edge, but Murray kisses a lob winner to level the score. Two quick points for Mannarino gives him a game point, then he puts away the set with an easy winner.
First set: *Mannarino 3-4 Murray (*denotes next server)
At 30-15, Murray pipes in aces of 112mph and 127mph to win the game. Clinical.
First set: Mannarino 3-3 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Mannarino falls behind on his serve again, this time a pair of misfires on the forehand side for love-30. Two errors by Murray, the latter the end the longest rally of the match, makes it 30-all. A Murray winner gives him another look at a break point, but an excellent serve helps the Frenchman. A low volley winner by Mannarino gives him game, but a misplayed shot brings it back to deuce. Mannarino muttering to himself between points. Andy dumps another into the net, then Mannarino responds in kind for deuce No3. A pair of Murray errors gives Mannarino another hard-won hold.
Updated
First set: *Mannarino 2-3 Murray (*denotes next server)
After trading points to open the game, Mannarino deflects a backhand into the net then follows it up with an overhand smash winner on the next point. 30-all. A 127mph ace, Murray’s third, gives him game point. He then wins the game on a Mannarino error. A third straight game to Murray after he lost the first two.
Updated
Murray breaks!
First set: Mannarino 2-2 Murray* (*denotes next server)
Mannarino pushes a ball into the net to fall behind on his serve once again, but he responds with two quick points. A Murray winner brings it to 30-all, but consecutive unforced errors by Mannarino – his sixth and seventh – give the break right back to Murray.
First set: *Mannarino 2-1 Murray (*denotes next server)
Murray’s serve starting to come on as he pounds a service winner and an ace in moving ahead 40-15. A sixth Mannarino winner pulls it to 40-30, but he sends a forehand long on the next point to give Murray the game.
First set: Mannarino 2-0 Murray* (*denotes next server)
A backhand winner down the line by Murray puts Mannarino in an early 0-15 hole. They trade unforced errors to make it 15-30, followed by a well played drop shot by Mannarino that knots it at 30-all. Mannarino with his third unforced error to give Murray a break-point chance at 30-40, but he cracks a 126mph ace to brng it to deuce. Approach winner by Mannarino pulls him within game point, and he holds when Murray can’t return the serve into the court on the following point.
Updated
Mannarino breaks!
First set: *Mannarino 1-0 Murray (*denotes next server)
Mannarino pounces on a Murray second serve and crushes a return winner into the open court. An eight-shot rally on the next point ends when the Frenchman dumps a forehand into the net. Another extended rally and this time it’s Murray who blinks. 15-30. An overcooked forehand by Murray and suddently Mannarino has a pair of break-point chances. He saves the first with a 126mph ace, but Mannarino pounds the Murray backhand repeatedly at 30-40 until Murray sends it into the net again. An early break. Can Mannarino back it up?
Here we go
Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes calls time and Murray, who won the coin toss and elected to serve, will serve first.
Tale of the tape
The players have emerged from the tunnel and have begun their warm-ups. Here’s a look at how they match up.
Murray v Mannarino
28 Age 27
3 ATP ranking 35
Dunblane, Scotland Birthplace Soizy, France
London, England Residence Soizy, France
57-9 2015 record 24-22
30-7 2015 hard-court record 17-12
538-160 Career record 73-101
362-102 Career hard-court record 50-65
4 2015 titles 0
35 Career titles 0
151-36 Career grand slam record 16-22
17-7 Career 5-Set record 3-2
7 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0
155-94 Career tiebreak record 31-46
16-6 2015 tiebreak record 9-15
$39,811,020 Career prize money $2,532,328
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Arthur Ashe Stadium for today’s second-round match between Andy Murray and France’s Adrian Mannarino. The winner will advance to a third-round match against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci, a winner over Yoshihito Nishioka on Court 13 earlier today.
A number of trends favor the British No1 today. He is 28-2 against Frenchmen dating back to November 2012 and 10-0 against left-handed players this season. His all-time record in the second round of grand slams is a sparkling 34-1, with the lone pockmark coming in his US Open debut against Arnaud Clement a decade ago. Add in Mannarino’s 1-13 lifetime record against top 10 players – including an 0-5 mark in grand slams – and it would seem to be a straightforward exam for the world No3.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the mean time why not check out Kevin Mitchell’s account of Andy Murray’s first-round win over Nick Kyrgios.
Andy Murray goes through, Nick Kyrgios goes down – but their hugely anticipated encounter on the second evening of the 2015 US Open, won in four don’t-look-away sets by the Scot, was more than a tennis match. It was a public examination of a tender psyche (Kyrgios’s, by the way), an entity wholly separate from the rest of the sport.
This was like witnessing the flowering of a genius or the twitching of an extinct species, maybe both. Kyrgios, in the tradition of all rebels, not only seems to care little for the scoreboard, he plays tennis as if no such thing exists, and he had the perfect chess partner in Murray, who likes to move opponents around like pawns on a board.
For two hours and 43 minutes, Kyrgios muttered and spluttered, grinned and grimaced, surfing all possibilities while oblivious to the likelihood of wipeout. Murray, no prisoner of orthodoxy himself but way more seasoned, rode the wave with him. However, he had a sharper eye on the beach and came in a 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 winner, as most sensible judges had expected.
Updated
