Indian
qualifier Saketh Myneni gave a mighty scare to the world number 49 Jiri Veseley
before limping out of the US Open as leg spasms scuttled his victory march,
here.
Myneni,
ranked 143 in singles, had a match point in the eighth game of the fifth set
but stiffness in the right thigh restricted his movement badly and he was
forced out 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-2 2-6 5-7 after battling hard for three hours and 47
minutes in a marathon first round match.
His first
ever appearance in the singles draw of a Grand Slam thus ended in
disappointment. Myneni was clearly a better player on the court but for fitness
issues he lost the opportunity to play with Novak Djokovic, one of the greatest
of the game, in the second round.
It brought
back the memories of the Davis Cup tie against Korea last month in Chandigarh,
where similar scenes were witnessed as both the Indian and the Koreans
struggled to stand on court due to humid conditions.
After
splitting four sets, Myneni broke the Czech in the fourth game to take a
crucial 3-1 lead and led 4-2 in the fifth set. The match changed at that stage
as Myneni took a medical time out due to issue in his right thigh but managed
to hold for a 5-2 cushion.
From a
commanding position, Myneni lost grip over the He surrendered serve twice after
that as he hardly had the strength to stand. An error-prone Vesely kept the
hopes of the Indian alive but Myneni was now limping, barely managing to stay.
Vesely
just needed to keep the ball in play to close the contest.
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