It wasn't the prettiest victory in Andy Murray’s career, but it was his first victory on an American hard court (or any other) since the Australian Open: 6-4, 6-1 over David Nalbandian.
Murray’s travails have been well-documented of late and it seems he has been underperforming everywhere but at the Slams, while Nalbandian continues to be dogged by injuries and the consequent struggles. For a meeting between two remarkably talented players, it was by and large a lackluster contest. After Murray surrendered his opening service game to 15 and Nalbandian went on to serve four double-faults while attempting to consolidate that break, former doubles champion Peter Fleming—calling the match for Sky Sports in the UK—sounded like he was only half-joking when he suggested his fellow commentator get his racquet: “Let’s challenge these guys for the court.”
The first set in particular seemed to follow the patterns we think of as characteristic of the WTA. With Murray serving at 38 percent and Nalbandian struggling to make an impact on his own serve, the focus was instead on the return of serve as the primary weapon. Both Murray and Nalbandian are justly renowned as excellent returners, but the difference in the early exchanges was that the Argentine was being both aggressive and incisive behind that return, coming to net frequently—he won 12 out of 13 points in which he tried that tactic—and looking for his trademark, cleanly-struck winners wherever possible. Murray on the other hand seemed due for another disappointing defeat. He had already smashed a racquet in the second game, and while he managed to get back on serve off the back of good defense, he was broken again at 3-3 after a Nalbandian cross-court forehand clipped the extreme outer edge of the line. The sparse crowd seemed stultified by the sweltering heat; everything was unpleasant and going wrong for Murray. Had Nalbandian been able to find a serve which Murray could not return, the Argentine could have run away with the match from there.
Instead, Murray returned aggressively to get back level, and then played his first good point on serve at 4-4, opening up the court with a wide, cross-court backhand, sneaking into the net for a clean volley winner. Holding serve got him into the lead for the first time, and from there, Murray won three games in a row to take the opening set and lead 2-0 in the second.
Picking up his own service percentage to 67 percent helped Murray hold Nalbandian off in his own service games, and with that pressure removed, he was free to attack his opponent’s serve. By the end of the match, there wasn’t a single service game of Nalbandian’s in which the Argentine didn't have to face break points, and while Nalbandian’s groundstrokes looked sharper for most of the match, he was still broken three times for a 6-1 second set.
It was unimpressive stuff from Murray, but it got the job done. That in itself is a significant improvement.
—Hannah Wilks