IT wouldn’t be a grand slam if it didn’t have a bit of Andy Murray drama and last night the US Open got their taste of it as the Scot produced a brilliant comeback from two sets down to beat France’s Adrian Mannarino in the second round.

For those opening sets, the world No.37 played outstanding, bold tennis and Murray looked, for a while at least, in a funk that he might not be able to get out of.

But a break at the start of the third sent him on his way and as Mannarino tired, Murray turned on the style to clinch a 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 victory, finishing with his 21st ace.

“It was extremely tough,” Murray said. “He hits the ball very flat, has fantastic timing and has a short backswing on both sides, so it was very difficult to read where he was going to hit the ball.

“I was hitting the ball a bit short in the first two sets and he was making me do a lot of running. Thankfully I got a break early on in the third set – I’d missed a few in the second set – and that helped me.”

It’s arguable that if Murray starts as sluggishly in his next round, against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, then he might not be capable of escaping but his eighth comeback from 2-0 down showed, again, that he is mentally and physically hugely strong.

A match that began in brutally hot sunshine with high humidity ended in shade and that may have been a factor as Murray found the strength to recover.

But Murray loves these battles and though conserving energy in the early stages of a grand slam is always advisable, having a test early in the fortnight should be something he can recover from.

Murray looked a little slow out of the blocks and while he recovered an early break, he dropped serve at 5-5 and Mannarino served out for the first set, before taking the second thanks to an early break.

But everything changed at the start of the third when Murray broke serve, unleashing a Serena Williams-like roar as he finally lifted his energy levels.

From then on it was a totally different match and Mannarino, who has a history of fading in tough battles, did so again.

Until this week, Jo Konta listed her favourite tennis memory as playing for Britain in the Fed Cup in 2013; after ousting the Wimbledon runner-up here last night, she may just have a new one.

The 24-year-old, who until this week had won only one grand slam match in her career, produced a stunning performance to beat Garbine Muguruza of Spain 7-6, 6-7, 6-2 in three hours, 23 minutes, the longest women’s match in US Open history.

The result mirrors Laura Robson’s win over the ninth seed Li Na in the third round here in 2012 but in many ways, Konta’s win was even better, matching Muguruza stroke for stroke and wearing her down in the end.

“She probably didn’t play her best today but she’s an incredible fighter and no matter what level of tennis she plays, she always brings her top-10 mentality,” said an elated and exhausted Konta.

“I had to fight for each point and it wasn’t given to me. I’m just really happy to come back another day and have another go.”

With her two wins here, added to her two ITF titles in recent weeks, Konta has 15 consecutive wins under her belt and she will take on Andrea Petkovic high on confidence, but she is refusing to get carried away.

“I’m not invincible,” she said. “I’m no Serena Williams. Petkovic will be a challenge and I have to go out there and do what I can.”

Second seed Simona Halep and former world No.1 Victoria Azarenka were among other women to make round three yesterday.