The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsAndy Murray has reached the third round of the US Open as the Brit defeated Marcel Granollers 6-4 6-1 6-4. Murray at times was tested by the Spaniard’s exquisite net play and attacking tennis, but the Brit overall was ultimately too strong for his opponent and produced an efficient display to complete the victory in straight sets.
In the opening set, Murray made a quick start and capitalised on an error strewn game from Granollers to claim the early break. The Brit did enough to consolidate the break for a 3-0 lead, as his opponent continued to break down in the extended rallies. However, Granollers soon improved and his impressive net play was eventually rewarded as Murray served for the set at 5-3, with the Spaniard staving off set points to gain the break back when the world number two placed a volley wide. Murray though threatened to respond in the following game as both players were engaging in high quality rallies, and eventually the Bit clinched the set in style with a brilliant forehand passing shot winner to take the upper hand in the match.
As the second set unfolded, Granollers crafted an early break point at 1-1, but Murray survived to edge ahead and then made the crucial breakthrough in the following game as the Spaniard conceded his serve after netting his groundstroke. The world number two was coming out on top in the baseline exchanges as he consolidated his advantage before seizing the double break to open up a commanding 5-1 margin, as Granollers was struggling to match his opponent’s power and depth of shot-making. Murray though was unrelenting and an emphatic hold of serve sealed what was a very dominant set of tennis from the Brit, as he established a two set lead.
In the third set, both players were able to hold comfortably initially, as Granollers did well to just move ahead in the scoreline and keep Murray at bay. At 4-3, the Spaniard had a potential opportunity at 15-30 and was pressuring the Brit with offensive tennis, but Murray resisted his opponent with his impenetrable defensive skills to outlast Granollers and eventually level the scoreline at 4-4. The Brit then managed to forge break points on his opponent’s serve in the following game and he seized the decisive break when Granollers planted a forehand wide, gifting the world number two the chance to serve out the match. Murray maintained his focus and he wrapped up the match with an ace to seal his progress into the next round.
In the third round, Murray will face Paolo Lorenzi as the Italian eliminated Gilles Simon in five sets.
As for the other Brits, Kyle Edmund went through in straight sets whilst Dan Evans took out Alexander Zverev in four sets to set up a third round meeting with Stan Wawrinka. Johanna Konta overcame a health scare and recovered from a collapse on court to defeat Tsvetana Pironkova 6-2 5-7 6-2, but Naomi Broady lost 7-6 6-3 to Agnieszka Radwanska despite a battling display from the Brit. Broady more than matched her higher ranked opponent for most of the contest with her powerful serve and in the first set was leading by a break and held set points in the tie-break, but Radwanska won the tie-break before eventually securing a hard fought victory.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal notched a straight-forward 6-0 7-5 6-1 win over Andreas Seppi, to join Marin Cilic, Juan Martin Del Potro and Kei Nishikori in the next round. Also, defending champion Novak Djokovic received a walkover into the third round when his opponent Jiri Vesely withdrew before the match due to injury. Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov also progressed but Ryan Harrison pulled off an upset in beating an injured Milos Raonic, as the Canadian went down in four sets after struggling throughout the encounter with cramp.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams cruised past Vania King 6-3 6-3 as Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys and Simona Halep secured straight set wins. Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams also enjoyed comfortable victories in their respective second round matches, whilst Caroline Wozniacki upset Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4 6-4. But, Garbine Muguruza made a shock exit from the tournament as the French Open champion was stunned 7-5 6-4 by Anastasija Sevastova.
