It was a grind but Andy Murray won’t care one bit. All that matters is that he’s back.

Almost 14 months after his last grand slam appearance and nearly nine months on from hip surgery, Murray battled past the Australian, James Duckworth, easing into the second round with a 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

As Duckworth’s forehand fell in the net on Murray’s first match point, the Scot raised his arms above his head before a single fist-pump, the celebration a combination of satisfaction and relief after the toughest period of his career.

“I’m very, very happy to be back,” Murray said, the sweat dripping down his face after three hours, 18 minutes, by 16 minutes the longest of the eight matches he has now played since returning to the Tour in June.

“At times it was tricky, really lively,” he said. “James was serving big, playing a lot of drop shots and throwing me off my rhythm. I’m happy I managed to get through it and at times played some good tennis.

“I made a bit of a change on the return, standing back a bit more, and that gave me more time to get into the rallies a bit more. I improved from there.”

The match was played in searing conditions, with temperatures topping 90 Fahrenheit (32 Celsius), on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium, a revamped arena equipped with a snazzy new roof.

Murray suffered some of the toughest losses of his career on the old court and when he dropped the first set on the tiebreak, having squandered two set points, he must have feared the worst.

His movement looked better than it had been in Washington and in particular, Cincinnati, earlier this month, and although he struggled to get full extension when moving across to his forehand in defensive situations, he will be more than satisfied with his improvement.

After losing the first set, an early break at the start of the second set, in the third game, settled him down and he broke again in the eighth game as he levelled the match at one set apiece.

Duckworth continued to move Murray around as often as he could, throwing in drop shots on occasions in a bid to keep the former world No.1 off balance.

In the past 18 months, Duckworth has had five bouts of surgery, two to his right foot and one to his right shoulder in 2017 and then to his right foot and right elbow after this year’s Australian Open.

And as the match wore on, Murray seemed to grow in confidence, his backhand looking rock solid, his serve effective if a few miles an hour short of top pace.

Above all, his know-how and court nous has not suffered from his absence from the Tour.

Time and again, as Duckworth looked to come forward, Murray would play a controlled passing shot, looking to make the Australian volley up, before taking advantage of anything short.

One break, right at the end of the set, put Murray two sets to one up but when he dropped serve at the start of the fourth, a decider looked possible, Murray dumping his racket on the ground in disgust.

But Murray broke back immediately to lead 3-1 and though he was broken back for 3-2, he snatched another break in the next game when Duckworth coughed up one of his 12 double faults.

Serving for the match at 5-3, Murray led 30-0 before missing an easy drive volley and then double-faulting to allow Duckworth a sniff.

But on the next point, the way he scampered forward to pick up a stop volley from Duckworth and guided it down the line, was almost vintage Murray, prompting a fist pump.

It gave him a first match point and he made no mistake, slamming a forehand down the line which Duckworth could only hack back into the net.

“I’ve lost a lot of matches out here,” Murray said, when asked how he had found the new Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I’ve struggled on this court, but it was beautiful. The sun went behind the court at one stage, which was good for the fans as well as the players. It’s like a new beginning. Great atmosphere, for the first round.”

Murray will now play the veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, the No.31 seed, for a place in the third round.

Kyle Edmund went out in round one, however, suffering from cramp as he went down 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 to Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi, suggesting afterwards he is still struggling to get over a recent viral illness.

And Heather Watson was beaten in three sets by Russian Ekaterina Makarova, her eighth defeat in eight main draw matches here, nevertheless taking her overall US Open prize money to $293,003.