US Open 2014: Andy Murray left puzzled as cramp almost seizes victory from Scot

Andy Murray has always prided himself on being one of the fittest players in tennis but the 27-year-old Scot was trying to work out today why cramp nearly cost him his place in the US Open.

Murray beat the Dutchman Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 in his opening match here last night but only after surviving a late meltdown which saw him lose eight games in succession.

Murray, who now plays the German Matthias Bachinger, appeared to be coasting when he won the first two sets against the world No 70, but cramps which affected his legs, back and arms in the latter stages threatened to condemn him to his first opening-round defeat at a Grand Slam tournament for six years. Murray trailed 4-1 in the fourth set but gritted his teeth in the closing stages to turn the match around.

Worryingly for Murray, he could not explain why he had fallen into such a predicament. “I ate before the match,” he said. “Maybe I could have eaten more, but I don't always eat loads before matches. I had only had breakfast a couple of hours beforehand, so I don't think it was anything to do with that.”

Murray, who had felt in peak fitness going into the tournament after pushing his body hard in the heat and humidity of Miami during a training camp earlier this month, added: “It was hot today, for sure, but I don't think it was particularly humid. It felt fairly dry and at the time it happened I didn't feel incredibly tired or anything.

“It just happened. The fact that it was the whole body would suggest that maybe it was something to do with my eating or drinking, because if it's through fatigue in one part of your body, then that would probably be down to conditioning. But cramping in my left forearm? I didn't use my left forearm a whole lot today compared with other parts of my body.”