Murray Wins First Set Against Djokovic in U.S. Open Men’s Final

Andy Murray, who is trying to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam tournament in 76 years, won the first set of a wind-swept U.S. Open final 7-6 (12-10) against defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

There were four service breaks in the first eight games as the players adjusted to the swirling 16 mile-per-hour (26 kilometer-per-hour) wind. Playing tentatively instead of going for winners, the two men exchanged 54 strokes on one point in the sixth game of the 87-minute set. The tiebreaker lasted 24 minutes.

The 2-5 betting favorite heading into today’s match, the second-seeded Djokovic has never lost to a lower-seeded player in seven appearances at the season’s final Grand Slam event.

Murray, 25, who beat Djokovic, 25, en route to his gold medal at the London Olympics last month, came into the match with an extra day of rest after Djokovic’s semifinal match was pushed to yesterday due to wind and rain.

It is the fifth straight year that the U.S. Open men’s final has been held on a Monday after a 21-year run of on-time finishes.

To contact the reporter for this story: Rob Gloster at rgloster@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net