- Briton eases to opening 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over No 24 seed
- Murray will face either John Millman or Emilio Nava next
For much of this most challenging period of Andy Murray’s career, as he has encountered problems that would not have occurred with younger legs and a more functional hip, he has continually explained what still drives him each day. He believes there is something left in him, even if he is not exactly sure how far he can go. Most important, he believes the evidence is there, laid out in his numerous strong performances against top players over the past year.
Ten years on from his maiden grand slam win on these grounds, he pieced together another strong performance. Murray played a clean, disciplined match that was even more one-sided than the scoreline suggests, neutralising the No 24 seed, Francisco Cerúndolo, and his nuclear forehand in the suffocating New York humidity to reach the second round of the US Open with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win. The victory marks Murray’s first straight-sets grand slam win since Wimbledon 2017, when he was ranked No 1.