Andy Murray got his US Open campaign off to a winning start by defeating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday, but it was far from his best tennis he displayed in a match that lasted 2 hours 17 minutes.
Andy Murray got his US Open campaign off to a winning start by defeating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday, but it was far from his best tennis he displayed in a match that lasted 2 hours 17 minutes.
Constantly under pressure on his serve in the first two sets, Murray played well only in patches and he will need to find another gear if he hopes to emulate last year's thrilling run into the final.
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Still, he said it had been a rewarding experience playing in the featured might match on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
"It was fun," he said. "I love these night matches. I have always wanted to play in one since I was a boy."
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| Andy Murray |
The 22-year-old Scot was a hot favourite, having won all three of the previous encounters between the two men, including a straight-sets walloping in the second round at Wimbledon this summer.
He broke first to lead 4-2 but lost his advantage in the very next game as Gulbis went for winners down both flanks to knock his opponent out of his comfort zone.
Murray saw a set point go begging at 5-4 up and then had to save a break point in the following game with a big first serve out wide.
The second seed let slip three more set points at 6-5 and 40-0 up on the Gulbis serve, but the Latvian then netted an easy volley at deuce and his drop shot on the following point was not good enough, allowing Murray to chase it down and hammer a forehand winner past his stranded opponent.
That gave Murray the breathing space he needed and he quickly jumped out into a 3-0 lead in the second set with a break of serve in the second game.
The Scot fell 0-40 behind two games later, but produced a tremendous sequence of big first serves to run off five points in a row for a 4-1 lead.
He was unable to repeat the feat at 4-2 ahead though as Gulbis broke back only to surrender his serve again in the next game.
Murray then served out for a two sets to love lead.
The final set saw services on top with Murray easily holding his own and Gulbis struggling to stay in the match.
He did so until the 11th game when a couple of loose shots opened the door for Murray and he gleefully walked though to clinch the win and a second round match against Chile's Paul Capdeville, a player he knows well.
"I used to train with him in Barcelona when I was 16 or 17 so it will be a tough match," he said.
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