Anderson has a 49-ace blast but Tsitsipas awakens Murray’s bog-bear at US Open

Former US Open finalist Kevin Anderson fired down 49 aces to defeat Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6(1) 4-6 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(4) in the first round on Monday, stunning spectators at Flushing Meadows.

The 2.03m power-server rattled off 17 aces in the final set alone, the last one coming on match point. The South African broke into a wide grin in his moment of triumph before hoisting his arms aloft.

While his ace tally was well short of John Isner’s record of 113, which he achieved during his 11-hour, five-minute first-round win at Wimbledon in 2010, it nonetheless earned a standing ovation from the crowd packed into one of Flushing Meadows’ outside courts.

Anderson, the runner-up in 2017, faces 11th seed Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in the second round. 

Murray furious at Tsitsipas stalling tactics

Stefanos Tsitsipas used his bathroom break when nature called at the US Open on Monday, but opponent Andy Murray fumed about the lengthy disruption as his hopes of scoring an opening-round upset went down the toilet.

Murray said he had been warned by his team to be prepared for disruptions such as a bathroom break or medical timeout if his third-seeded opponent saw the match slipping away.

And if that was the Greek’s plan it worked to perfection as a distracted Murray vented his opinion to the chair umpire, courtside officials and anyone else in earshot as Tsitsipas recovered to claim a 2-6 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory.

“I think he’s a brilliant player. I think he’s great for the game, but I have zero time for that stuff at all,” said Murray, who left the court after a profanity-laced rant to no one in particular. “I lost respect for him.”

What upset Murray more than the timing was the length of a bathroom break which ran close to eight minutes, taking away any momentum the Scotsman had been building.

Tsitsipas also had a medical timeout to receive treatment on his left foot after dropping the third set.

After each break Murray grew more frustrated at officials for refusing to call the Greek on what he saw as stalling tactics.

“When you’re playing a brutal match like that, you know, stopping for seven, eight minutes, you do cool down,” said Murray. “It can’t be coincidence that it’s happening at those moments.

“It’s just disappointing because I feel it influenced the outcome of the match. I’m not saying I necessarily win that match... but it had an influence on what was happening after those breaks.”

Currently there are no time limits on bathroom breaks and Tsitsipas said he had abided by the regulations.

“I don’t think I broke any rules,” he said. “I’m playing by the rules and sticking to what the ATP says is fair, then the rest is fine.

“If there’s something that he has to tell me, we should speak, the two of us, to kind of understand what went wrong.”

Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a forehand against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the first round of the US Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City on 30 August 2021. (Photo: TPN/Getty Images)