Murray motors past Llodra in opener

 

Originally published on: 29/08/13 00:00

Heavy rain throughout the day meant Murray had to wait until late in the evening to make it onto Arthur Ashe Court, but he wasted little time in wrapping up up a 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory in an hour and 38 minutes late on Wednesday night.

Stepping out onto Arthur Ashe court, the scene of his maiden Grand Slam triumph 12 months ago, Murray burst out of the blocks, grabbing an early break as he took the opening set. Although Llodra broke early in the second set, the world No.3 bounced back, winning five straight games to take control before sealing the win and booking a second-round clash with Leonardo Mayer.

"It was a good start, I played well today," Murray said. "He's a very tricky opponent to play against, he's unpredictable. He's a fun guy to watch but he can be a bit of a nightmare to play against, so it's good that I got off to a good start, especially after waiting around all day."

Murray admits he feels at a disadvantage for his late-night finish – while his main rivals played their first round matches on Monday or Tuesday, he was at risk of not completing his opening match after being scheduled during the evening session with poor weather forecast.

"Anyone that knows sport knows that playing seven matches over 13 days is harder than playing seven matches over 15 days,” Murray told BBC Radio 5 live.

"You obviously get less time to recover and rest, but you deal with it, do all the recovery stuff and get as much sleep as possible. Now I'm in a routine of playing every other day, which you do at all the other Slams."

"I just wanted to get on and play the match. I've been here for 12 days practising and I just wanted to get on the court and play."

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