New York, Sep 2 (IANS) Scot tennis star Andy Murray, Swiss second seed Roger Federer, his compatriot Stan Wawrinka and Czech Tomas Berdych advanced to the second round of the US Open here.
Murray defeated controversial Australian Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the last match of the second day on Tuesday. Murray, the tournament’s winner in 2012, made no concessions for Kyrgios, mixing up his game well even though his serve remained inconsistent, reports Efe.
The third seed Scot managed to win decisive points in his first set success, as he carried forward the momentum into the second set, and eventually secured his victory.
Murray’s next opponent will be the left-handed Frenchman Adrian Mannarino who beat Russian qualifier Konstantin Kravchuk 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-1.
Seventeen-time Major champion Federer, playing his 16th straight US Open, geared up for his sixth tournament crown as he easily dismissed Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
The former world No.1, who last won the US Open in 2008, showed great form, outplaying his opponent in all departments of the game.
Federer held his serve throughout the match, fired 12 aces, converted six of nine break-point opportunities and committed five double faults.
The Swiss will face Belgian Steve Darcis who notched a three-set victory against Marcos Baghdatis.
Two-time Major champion Wawrinka had to work harder to beat Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (6) and set up a second round clash against Korea’s Hyeon Chung.
Meanwhile, Berdych needed one hour and 53 minutes to send 113th seeded Bjorn Fratangelo packing 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. He will now face Austria’s Jurgen Metzer who defeated Denis Kudla 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
Meanwhile, 12th seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet and 13th seeded American John Isner also moved into the second round.
In the women’s draw, last year’s finalist Simona Halep, who returns as a favourite together with her nemesis, America’sn Serena Williams, sailed into the second round after defeating New Zealand’s Monica Erakovic 6-2, 3-0 (retired).
Halep will next play Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko who beat Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-3.
Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, seeded fourth, also advanced with a 6-2, 6-0 win over American Jamie Loeb.
German Angelique Kerber, Italy’s Karin Knapp and Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko also won their respective matches on the tournament’s second day.
