Murray eases through

Aug 25 2008

Andy Murray swept past Sergio Roitman and into the second round of the US Open with a performance to banish the memories of a lacklustre Olympics exit in Beijing two weeks ago.

British number one Murray, seeded sixth in this final grand slam of the year, defeated Argentina's Roitman 6-3 6-4 6-0 in an hour and 35 minutes to bounce back from a first-round defeat by world number 77 Lu Yen-Hsun at the Games.

The Scot, ranked number six in the world, will now play either Michael Llodra of France or Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili in the second round.

Murray met with little resistance from the clay specialist boasting only one win this year on hard courts. He quickly took control of the first set, opening the match at Louis Armstrong Stadium with an ace and winning the first game with the loss of just one point.

Murray faced more resistance from Roitman in the second set but although his opponent never really threatened a break, it was the first service of the number six that was beginning to undermine his game.

The Murray serve came under pressure at last in the third set as Roitman took the second game to deuce following an unforced error on the Scot's forehand, but again the three-time ATP Tour winner this year found a way past his opponent, who erred on a backhand to let the 21-year-old off the hook.

The Briton rounded off the match to come off court with a win achieved with the minimum of fuss.

Elsewhere, new world number one Rafael Nadal advanced to the second round but his passage past Bjorn Phau proved anything but straightforward.

Seeded first in a major for the first time in his career, Nadal began his pursuit of tennis history with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory over feisty German Phau.

Another Spanish winner on Monday was fourth-seeded David Ferrer, who kicked off the tournament with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-2 victory over Martin Vassallo Arguello.