India’s Saketh Myneni failed to get past Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely in his men's singles first round encounter of the US Open on Tuesday. The 28-year-old lost 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2 2-6 5-7 in a marathon five-setter. World No. 143 Myneni, who reached the main draw of his first grand slam, knew he had a tough task against Vesely, ranked 49th in the world. However, even the Czech was not expecting such a fight from the Indian in a match that lasted for 227 minutes.
The Czech drew first blood winning the first set 6-7(5) via tie-breaker. However, Myneni bagged the second and third set 6-4 6-2 to take 2-1 lead in the match. With victory just a set away, Myneni would have fancied his chances against Vesely. However, the Czech staged a brilliant comeback to demolished Myneni 6-2 in the fourth and bagged the fifth set 7-5.
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