US Open 2018: Andy Murray battles back to beat James Duckworth in first Grand Slam win in 14 months

Returning to competition at this level for the first time since he limped out of Wimbledon 412 days ago, Murray beat Duckworth 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3

Andy Murray celebrates his first round victory (AFP/Getty)

It was not always pretty and it was clearly a hugely challenging experience, but Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam match for nearly 14 months here on Monday. Returning to competition at this level for the first time since he limped out of Wimbledon 412 days ago, Murray beat Australia’s James Duckworth 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the second round of the US Open.

Duckworth, a journeyman player who, like Murray, has been struggling with injury for more than year, is the sort of opponent the Scot would have brushed aside in his prime, but this was an attritional battle from start to finish.

When the Australian won the first set Murray knew that in order to win he would have to play at least four sets for the first time since last summer’s Wimbledon, but the 31-year-old Scot dug deep. He was certainly well below his best and there were times when he appeared to struggle with his movement, but this was a typically gutsy performance.

The heat and humidity made the conditions especially testing, but Murray did not wilt. He now plays Fernando Verdasco in the second round.

Andy Murray and James Duckworth shake hands (AFP/Getty)

Having had hip surgery in January, Murray had not played for 11 months when he returned to competition at Queen’s Club in June. His subsequent comeback has been a tentative one and he made a late withdrawal from Wimbledon last month.

After beating Duckworth Murray said that he had felt discomfort in his hip during the grass-court season but was feeling much better now and had always expected to play here, even though he expects to continue to feel pain.

“I've got a bunch of matches under my belt, a lot more training and just a kind of better understanding of where my body is at,” he said.

The Scot said that last week he had been spending up to six hours a day rehabbing. “I was doingtwo and a half hours in the morning, an hour and a half in the pool in the afternoon, and then on top of that, treatment, which can be anywhere from two to three hours. Pretty intense.”

The match was played on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium, the second of the main show courts here. Murray had some disappointments in the old Armstrong, but this was a satisfying start to his comeback.

Murray saved two break points in the second game of the match but had not looked to be in any serious trouble until the end of the opening set. Duckworth saved two set points when serving at 5-6 and then went 3-0 up in the tie-break. Murray recovered to lead 5-4, but lost the next three points and the set.

However, Murray’s response could not be faulted. Having broken serve in the third game of the second set, the Scot broke again when Duckworth served at 3-5 as the Australian double-faulted at 0-40.

Murray got the job done in four sets (Getty)

At 5-6 and 30-30 in the third set Duckworth double-faulted again. On the next point he missed a backhand, upon which Murray bellowed out a roar of celebration. Duckworth threw his racket in disgust when he walked back to his chair, which earned him a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct.

In the opening game of the fourth set it was Murray’s turn to throw his racket to the floor after dropping serve when he netted a backhand, but the Scot quickly recovered to win the next three games. Duckworth broke back to trail 3-2, only to drop serve again in the following game.

At 5-3 Murray went to match point after a point that was a reminder of the Scot at his very best. Having chased down Duckworth’s stop volley, Murray hit a beautifully judged forehand winner down the line. When Duckworth netted a forehand on the next point the former world No 1 raised his arms in the air in celebration.

Murray thought he could have moved better in the early stages but was pleased with the way he finished. “I struggled a little bit with that earlier in the match,” he said. “I don’t know for what reason. It was extremely lively conditions out there. It was a lot quicker for me, anyway, than what we have been practising in since we got here. I felt a little bit slow at the beginning.

Duckworth failed to capitalise on his early momentum (Getty)

“And then the positive was that actually towards the end of the match, I made some quite good moves. Like the second to last point of the match, I moved pretty quickly up to the drop volley. I also maintained my serving speeds throughout the match, as well.There was some good stuff, but I think I can get better.”

He added: “I didn't play amazing. I'm not expecting to play my best tennis right now. But just in terms of the way I was hitting the ball and constructing some of the points, I felt that as the match went on I started to dictate more and was getting myself a bit closer to the baseline.

“I think tactically I did well and made some adjustments on the return from the first set, which is a really positive thing. I think when you haven't played loads, it can be easy to just get wrapped up in how you're actually hitting the ball rather than thinking about the strategy and what you're trying to do out there.So I made some adjustments on the return game, and that helped me a lot. I created a lot of chances on return.”