Remarkably, nine players have already fought back from two sets down to win in the first round of the men's singles at Flushing Meadows, equalling the record for the whole tournament set in 1989
Tipsarevic, who reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final here last year, looked like he was on his way out when he trailed French wild card Guillaume Rufin by two sets, but the Serb fought back to win 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
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Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller and Estonian Ernests Gulbis were the other marathon men on Wednesday. Muller knocked out 28th seed Mikhail Youzhny 2-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), while Gulbis ended the hopes of 21st seed Tommy Haas, winning 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.