An incredible day for British tennis players at the US Open ended with seven players in the men’s and women’s draws remarkably advancing to the second round after winning all 18 sets they played across the first two days in New York.
Among the victors, Andy Murray confidently progressed with a strong 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Corentin Moutet, despite a physical battle that lasted more than three hours.
“It was a long one, but the way that we play, it was probably always going to be like that,” Murray said, smiling. “Three hours was probably a lot shorter than some of my matches this year, so pleased to get it done.”
Murray had arrived at the US Open with questions over his fitness after he suffered an abdominal injury at the Canadian Open in Toronto before also withdrawing from Cincinnati. He had spent the past week gradually increasing his training load with his serve.
Afterwards, he said he was satisfied with how his abdominal muscle held up under pressure. “I was quite happy with how I served today,” he said. “Ab felt good and moving on to the next one.”
Seven British players will now compete for a spot in the third round after numerous strong performances during the first two days. Katie Boulter produced one of her cleanest performances of the season, overpowering Diane Parry of France 6-4, 6-0 to reach the second round at Flushing Meadows for the first time in her career.
Cameron Norrie, the 16th seed, ended a difficult four-match losing run with an excellent performance as he overwhelmed Alexander Shevchenko of Russia 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Jack Draper continued his recovery from a serious shoulder injury, easing past Moldova’s Radu Albot 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.
The victories continued late into Tuesday evening as Dan Evans, the 26th seed, comfortably moved past Daniel Elahi Galán 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 to set up a second round meeting with Botic van de Zandschulp. As night fell, Jodie Burrage closed off a spectacular day for British players with one of the best wins of her career, defeating No 38 Anna Blinkova to reach the second round in her debut.
The six victors on Tuesday joined Lily Miyazaki in the second round, who won her first grand slam match from qualifying on Monday.
Murray’s victory also provided a first for professional tennis as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was called upon after the umpire had decided that Moutet failed to reach a drop volley from Murray before the ball had bounced twice.
This year’s tournament is the first official event to make VAR available, allowing players to request video reviews on certain judgment calls on selected show courts. All VAR reviews will be decided by assistant referees off court, rather than the umpire on court.
After Murray’s drop volley was deemed a double bounce, Moutet requested a replay and the two players waited for the review. While the footage was shown repeatedly on the court’s big screens, technical difficulties meant the video assistant referees could not see footage of the disputed call. After a long delay, the umpire, Louise Engzell, announced that the original call would stand.
As a result of her victory, Boulter will probably rise to a career-high ranking inside the top 55 after only returning to the top 100 after winning the Nottingham WTA title in June. Boulter will next face China’s Wang Yafan, a qualifier, who upset Caroline Garcia, the French No 7 seed, 6-4, 6-1.
“I just want to consolidate my ranking and really show that week in, week out I can play these girls and get a lot of wins against them,” Boulter said. “I think that’s what’s really going to build my confidence. I didn’t get the chance to do it before when I was inside 100, and I feel like I finally got my feet settled and now is my time to really push on.”
Norrie had not won a match since Wimbledon, struggling with his confidence and his forehand. Still, it is testament to his excellent attitude that he remained positive and upbeat off court even as things were not going his way and he moved on with a solid win.
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For Draper, his first round match came with the added uncertainty of his lingering shoulder issues, with the 21-year-old withdrawing from Winston-Salem a week before the US Open. Draper played extremely well, though, easing past Albot in three sets to set up a big second round match with Hubert Hurkacz.
“There was maybe a possibility after Winston-Salem that I might not be able to play this tournament, but looked after it really well, taking it day by day,” he said. “Today I didn’t feel it at all so I was very, very happy.”
As Evans spoke with the media, Burrage coolly served out the final victory of the day against Blinkova. Evans, who is rarely impressed, had initially played down the significance of the day, pointing out he had only been focused on his own match and that Miyazaki’s run from qualifying at 27 years old was perhaps more special than their collective success.
But upon being informed that the seven British players had not dropped a set between them, Evans himself was stunned: “Fucking hell,” he said.
