Johanna Konta showered her compatriot Andy Murray with praise after his stunning fightback from two sets and a break down against Yoshihito Nishioka at the US Open.
Konta, the British No. 1, started her match against fellow Brit Heather Watson after Murray’s titanic contest had begun and she had wrapped up a 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 win before he had forced a fifth set.
Murray – who will face Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in round two – saved a match point in the fourth and recovered from a break down in the decider as he clinched one of the most famous first-round wins of his career.
It was an especially remarkable feat when one considers this was his first appearance at a Grand Slam since a hip resurfacing operation and Konta believes his love for the game keeps driving him on to further greatness.
‘He’s a champion of Grand Slams and gold medals because of the challenger he is,’ said Konta.
‘He’s so incredibly tenacious. I didn’t even see the match, but I assume that’s just kind of what he brought to the table.
‘He’s, I mean, also overcoming the injury that he had. Just shows his tenacity and perseverance and love for his sport.
‘I think, for that, he is regarded a sporting hero back home and rightly so.’
Konta admitted she found the buildup to her own all-British tie more ‘stressful’ than a normal Grand Slam round one match but was delighted to get over the line.
‘I mean, there will be obviously, there is more interest at home, so there will be more opinions from people at home,’ said Konta.
‘Obviously we spend a lot of time together. There’s always going to be rivalry between compatriots. It’s always going to be that extra stressful.
‘Even if it’s not imposed from myself or Heather, and we don’t really I think care about that, there’s always going to be an element of people having more judgments and more of an opinion on the outside at home on a match like today.’
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