But those hopeful early days of June set the scene for sadness. Out of nowhere, Murray pulled his abdominal muscle and was hampered throughout the third set. After following Stuttgart by winning Queen’s, on the eve of Wimbledon Berrettini contracted Covid and withdrew. Both players reached the third round of the US Open still looking to rediscover their form, and in the end it was Berrettini who found it, withstanding a late surge from Murray. He combined his nuclear serve and forehand with sweet, delicate strokes around the court, demolishing Murray to reach the fourth round with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(1) 6-3 victory. Having reached the first third round of a grand slam for only the second time since being ranked No. 1, Murray left the Ashes with mixed feelings. On the one hand, he was disappointed with some aspects of his performance, particularly his serve for long stretches of the match, but expressed pride in his continued achievements. “I have a metal hip,” Murray said. “It’s not easy to play with. It’s really hard. I’m amazed that I’m still able to compete with guys who are right at the top of their game. “With races like this I’m really proud to have worked in a position where I can do that. I’m really disappointed I didn’t get over the line today. But I’m reminded that this is the first time you’ve made the third round here since 2016. It’s been six years. It’s been a tough six years for me. It was really hard.” Throughout this week, Murray has expressed deep satisfaction with how his body is handling the constant strain of professional tennis. His improved physicality was reflected in his movement, which he showed early on with a one-handed backhand shot and then a sweet lob forehand that earned him an early break point at 3-2. But then Berettini took over. Berrettini possesses one of the greatest serve and forehand combinations in the world, which he combines with a sweet drop shot, forehand skills and a particularly excellent backhand slice. Murray’s break point was erased by a thunderous serve from Berretini and then the Italian served flawlessly for the rest of the set. He combined his punishing weapons, which pushed Murray well behind the baseline, with a steady stream of fine forehand shots as he gradually built a two-set lead. As Berrettini pressed to get the job done in straight sets, he created eight break points on Murray’s serve. But Murray will always fight. He saved every break point, including a 0-40 hole at 5-5, and then managed to take the third-set tiebreak as Berrettini’s forehand fell. Murray tried to run with momentum at the start of the fourth set, setting up an early break point, but Berretini held and then regained control to win. As his grand slam season draws to a close, Murray leaves New York with mixed feelings. His poor serve for two sets, with a low first serve percentage and double faults in deciding break points in both sets, led him to the biggest moments. Matteo Berretini on his way to a four-set victory. Photo: Robert Deutsch/USA Today Sports But a loss to such a quality player is no great shame. Given his circumstances at this point in his career, his third round is a very good tournament. It is only the second time he has reached the third round at a grand slam tournament since he was ranked No. 1 in 2017. He played well, taking out No. 27 Francisco Cerudolo, and is now ranked around 43rd. The best of our sports journalism from the last seven days and a heads-up of the weekend’s action Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “Even though it’s the first time I’ve only done the third lap here, I’m really proud of the effort I put in to get back into those positions,” he said. “So hopefully in the future I can go further, but all things considered, I’ve done well.” There have been times in recent years when Murray has competed well with the top players but left the court disappointed. But this time, after a rough summer of abdominal strain and cramps, he was optimistic. “I want to push and see how far I can go. That’s going to be motivating for me and interesting to see, because a lot of people told me I wouldn’t be able to play again, and a lot of people told me I might be able to hit tennis balls but not compete professionally again. That was nonsense and I want to see how close I can get back to the top of the game,” he said. For Berrettini, his recent struggles are just one part of a desperately unlucky season. He started the year with his third grand slam semi-final in Australia, but was then sidelined for almost three months after hand surgery. At this time in men’s tennis when opportunities are starting to open up at the biggest tournaments, he aims to be one of the main protagonists and is back on track. In the women’s draw, fifth seed Ons Jabeur recovered from a set down and a break down to reach the fourth round with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over 31st seed Shelby Rogers. She will next face Veronika Kudermetova, who defeated Dalma Galfi 6-2, 6-0 in 47 minutes.
