Pic: © Reuters
The US Open proved a happy hunting ground once again for Andy Murray as he made his way into the third round of the US Open. The Scot defeated Jamaica’s Dustin Brown 7-5 6-3 6-0 in the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
A short rain shower was the only thing that could delay the World number four on his way to victory despite Brown’s spirited efforts. The Jamaican won the affections of the crowd early in the match as he thundered in some ambitious shots but Murray quickly got the measure of the player ranked 123rd in the rankings.
The first set was a stop-start affair in which Murray was disappointed to see all three of his line calls ruled against him and had his play disrupted by the rain. The Scot prevailed 7-5 and quickly moved up a gear in the second set.
Murray quickly found himself 5-0 up and was easily outclassing Brown in every aspect of the game. However, the Jamaican returned to his habit of using the same “lucky” ball with which he won a point for the entire game and promptly held serve in the sixth
Two powerful forehand returns helped him break Murray in the next game and he held again to make it 5-3. The short show of form came to an end when Murray served out to take the set 6-3 and Brown’s faint hopes went with it.
The third set was a whitewash, Murray effortlessly moving up the gears to get the match over with and set up a third round tie with Stanislas Wawrinka or Juan Ignacio Chela.
After the match, the Scot seemed to have enjoyed his match against an opponent who offered something different.
"I'd never played him before so at the start of the match it was very interesting,” Murray said.
“He went for his shots huge and was hitting fun shots so I was glad to get off in straight sets. It was tough conditions - very windy out there.
"It was very different. He's a shotmaker, he is obviously fun to watch and had great support today. It was a good atmosphere and I enjoyed it."
