The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Home and dry.
Scot through to third round in straight sets at a noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium
Andy Murray booked his spot in the US Open third round with a straightsets victory over Marcel Granollers yesterday as rain battered down on the new $150m Arthur Ashe Stadium roof.
Andy Murray had to play through a deafening downpour on his way to victory over Marcel Granollers and a place in the US Open third round.
Murray’s match was put under the $150 million roof in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, but a combination of echoing chatter and torrential rain outside still made conditions a challenge.
The British number one, however, wavered only momentarily as he beat Granollers 6-4 6-1 6-4 to book his place in round three.
He will now face either France’s Gilles Simon or Italian Paolo Lorenzi.
It was not a vintage performance. Murray made 28 unforced errors and his first serve only landed 43% of the time, but the straight-sets win will preserve energy for sterner tests.
There was also the challenge of playing under the roof, which amplified an already noisy New York crowd and for a while caused a clattering din as the rain poured down.
“At first we didn’t know if there was just more people coming in at the change of ends, but then we quickly realised it was the rain,” Murray said.
“It was tough, you couldn’t really hear the ball, which makes it tricky. But we’re lucky to play under the roof; otherwise there wouldn’t be any tennis so it’s good for everyone.”
Murray had won his last four meetings against Granollers and only lost twice in nine, but the emphatic score-line was harsh on the world number 45, who was particularly threatening at the end of the first set.
Two games, lasting 23 minutes, had Murray scrambling but he survived and never looked back thereafter.
“It was tough, obviously. Had it gone to 5-5 then the first set becomes a really tough one and all the pressure is on me at the end of that set,” Murray said.
“Thankfully I got through that 5-4 game and the momentum was back with me.”
Murray had coasted into a 3-0 and then 5-2 lead. His level of comfort was best summed up when he nonchalantly patted up a lob after assuming a forehand was out, only for Granollers to lash the smash long off his frame.
Whether Murray’s concentration drifted, however, or his opponent found his rhythm, there was a change of momentum at the end of the set as Murray struggled to close out.
Granollers pulled one break back after Murray played a lengthy game littered with unforced errors, and the Spaniard could have levelled at 5-5 had he been more clinical.
Instead, the Scot broke and raised his game to convert a seventh set point.
Murray’s dip was not quite over and it was made more dramatic when the noisy hum of the crowd turned into a thundering buzz as an outside downpour crashed on top of the roof.
Granollers earlier requested umpire Mariana Alves to ask the spectators to be quiet and the players now both stopped, unsure what was causing the additional din, before play swiftly resumed.
Granollers opened up two break points but his opponent saved both and as the rain, and noise, gradually eased, it was one-way traffic thereafter.
Murray broke twice for 5-1 before serving out and, in the blink of an eye, Granollers trailed by two sets to love.
The third set was perhaps the tightest but Murray cranked up the pressure again when it mattered. He broke at 4-4 and wrapped up victory in two hours and 23 minutes.
It was tough, you couldn’t really hear the ball, which makes it tricky. ANDY MURRAY