Tennis - US Open: Andy Murray got his US Open campaign off to a strong start at Flushing Meadows as he took the first set of his opening-round match with Ernests Gulbis. The world number two won in straight sets, taking the contest 7-5 6-3 7-5.
Murray, the 2008 runner-up, had been given the prime-time spot for American television with a night match on Ashe and he went in against the Latvian - ranked 95 in the world and a straight-sets, second-round victim of Murray at Wimbledon - eager to live up to his top billing.
He achieved that, although Gulbis helped the Scot's cause with an erratic performance that produced 46 winners and 51 unforced errors compared to Murray's respective totals of 33 and 21.
Murray even recovered from a heavy fall during the ninth game of the final set, escaping with "just a few bruises" but he put that to one side to pronounce himself satisfied with his night's work.
"I thought it was good," Murray said of his opening performance. "I thought it was a high standard of match.
"I had a few chances in the third set to go up breaks. I had 0-30 in the first game, maybe 0-40 in the second service game then a couple of times in the first two sets where I was up a break and got broken straight back pretty much.
"I was giving him chances to break me.
"When it was on serve and I needed to I didn't give him many chances at all.
"When I needed to I upped my game.
"My concentration could have been a bit better but for a first match I thought it was very good because he played very well, a lot better than at Wimbledon."
Murray's win sets up a second-round match with Chile's world number 87 Paul Capdeville, of whom he said during an on-court interview: "I used to train with him in Barcelona when I was 16, 17, so I know him pretty well.
"He won comfortably today so it's going to be a tough match but I played well tonight."