Murray survives five sets to reach 4th rnd

By Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters) - British sixth seed Andy Murray came from two sets behind to claim a spot in the fourth round of the U.S. Open with a nail-biting 6-7 4-6 7-6 6-1 6-3 victory on Saturday against Juergen Melzer of Austria.

Ranked 48th in the world but buoyed by reaching the Olympic quarter finals, the 27-year-old Melzer used his powerful groundstrokes and well-timed drop shots to put the Scot on the run in the first two sets.

The first set went with serve and the tiebreaker was close at 7-5. Serving at 4-5 down in the second set, Murray netted an easy volley and then a backhand to give Melzer two set points. He saved the first with a powerful forehand but lost the second to go two sets down.

Murray, who reached the fourth round in 2006, rallied early in the third set to claim his first break of serve and go 3-2 up, but when Murray was serving for the set at 5-4, Melzer dug deep. He saved a set point and then created his own break point with a delicate drop shot followed by a perfect lob.

It was enough for Melzer to even the set but Murray pulled through the tiebreak 7-5.

"He was playing unbelievable in the first two sets, hitting serves bang on the line and hitting his forehand huge," Murray said in a courtside interview.

"But I managed to fight and when I broke him in the third set, for the first time in the match, I started to feel a little better. I just started to return a bit better as the match went on," he said.

Reinvigorated in the fourth, Murray served three love service games in a row and broke Melzer twice to open up a 5-0 lead. He served eight aces in the a 26-minute set and ripped through Melzer, who looked like he didn't know what hit him.

Apparently suffering from cramps, Melzer called in a physiotherapist before the fifth set to massage his thighs.

The breather seemed to break Murray's momentum, and Melzer created two break points for himself in the fourth game. But Murray made him run and saved them, leaving Melzer on the ground at the end of one rally, clutching his leg in pain.

At 3-3 with three-and-a-half hours on the clock, Melzer was looking tired, unable to run down wide shots he would have made earlier in the match and finding the drop shot turned against him for once. Murray gave no quarter and stole the break.

At 5-3 Melzer saved two match points on his serve before Murray wrong-footed him with a forehand from the back of the court to take the match.

Murray, who won his first Masters Series title in Cincinnati earlier this month, is aiming for his first grand slam title.

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)