Rusedski falls at first US hurdle

British number two Greg Rusedski saw victory taken from his grasp as lost to Frenchman Cyril Saulnier in a final-set tie-break…

British number two Greg Rusedski saw victory taken from his grasp as lost to Frenchman Cyril Saulnier in a final-set tie-break in the first round of the US Open.

After twice coming back from a set down, Rusedski twice held match point, including one on his own serve at 7-6 in the tie-break.

However, from that stage Saulnier produced three remarkable shots from the back of the court to prevail 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9/7).

It was the first five-set victory of his career for Saulnier, currently 56th in the ATP Champions Race, but it will be a defeat that will be extremely difficult for Rusedski to digest.

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His serve on match point simply fed the Frenchman's backhand, and he ripped the ball past Rusedski in what was surely the decisive shot of the match.

Saulnier closed out the contest with two more excellent backhands to end Rusedski's hopes of progress in the tournament.

Rusedski started the match sluggishly and was broken in the third game of the first set.

And it proved decisive as Saulnier held onto his serve to take the first set 6-4 - although not before Rusedski had missed an easy backhand volley at 15-30 as Saulnier served for the set.

But Rusedski did not dwell on his mistake and broke for a 4-2 lead in the following set when Saulnier, whose groundstrokes were largely solid throughout, hit a forehand long. The Briton went on to take the set 6-3 and level the match.

Rusedski, though, lost his rhythm in the third set, allowing the Frenchman to break serve twice and race into a two-sets-to-one lead in the match by winning the set 6-1.

Rusedski rallied well, and took the match into a decider. He broke in the fourth game of the fourth set to take a 3-1 lead, and then saved two break points in the sixth game as he levelled the match by claiming the set 6-3.