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 The top-seeded Murray was never allowed to settle by the
hard-serving Gabashvili, who blasted 11 aces and broke late in the
third set before holding his nerve in the tiebreaker for his finest
victory of the season.
The world number 53's previous high point of the campaign was his
advance to the fourth round of the French Open but his victory over
third-ranked Murray marks the fourth time the 30-year-old has
secured a win against a top-10 opponent.
"I was exhausted at the end because my body was really tired but I
learnt to play good points and I learnt to play aggressive and
without any fear because you have to fight for every point,"
Gabashvili told reporters.
Gabashvili reached the third round of the U.S. Open a year ago and
his liking for the hard courts of North America was evident in the
first set when he took the contest to Murray and broke the Scot
twice to claim the opener.
Attempting to make the transition from grass to hard courts, the top
seed appeared to shake off the rust in the second set to level the
match but was unable to seal the deal when he was broken as he
served for the contest at 5-4 in the decider.
"It's obviously a disappointing match to lose but it wasn't like I
was blown off the court in a match that I had no chance of winning.
I feel like I put myself in a position to win the match," Murray
said.
"It was the first hard-court match for four-and-a-half months with
only four or five days of preparation, so I was happy with how I
moved and did certain things on court.
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"But there are some things for me to improve and hopefully with a
few more days and having that match under my belt, I'll be able to
make some improvements for the next few weeks."
Murray, who was awarded a first round bye, fell to Roger Federer in
the Wimbledon semi-finals last month but had since helped Great
Britain advance to the last four of the Davis Cup for the first time
since 1981.
The U.S. Open starts on Aug. 31 in New York where Croatia's Marin
Cilic will defend his title.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner; Editing by John O'Brien)
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