ANDY Murray made another of his trademark escapes as the third-seeded Scot overcame Frenchman Adrian Mannarino after losing the first two sets to reach the third round of the U.S. Open yesterday.Murray, who looked bewildered early on, recovered to beat the left-hander 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 as he came back from two sets down to register victory for the eighth time in his career.
The world number three finished off the extreme turnaround with his 21st ace to end the three-hour 17-minute match on a sweltering hot humid day at the U.S. National Tennis Center.
The crafty Mannarino, ranked 35th despite having no ATP Tour titles to his credit, seemed to put Murray in a daze with a shifting variety of groundstrokes, drop shots and volleys at the net.
But with his back against the wall, Murray snapped into focus, hit his strokes with piercing accuracy and ran the tiring Frenchman ragged in streaking through the next three sets.
Next up for Murray will be Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 winner over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.