Andy Murray made a positive start to his US Open campaign with a straight-sets victory over 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo in New York.
The 35-year-old went into the tournament having only won one match on the North American hard courts and with concerns over persistent cramping but this proved to be a relatively straightforward outing in humid conditions.
Argentinian Cerundolo has won the majority of his ranking points on clay and Murray had to grind his way through plenty of long rallies on his way to a 7-5 6-3 6-3 victory, with the only real negative a failure to serve out all three sets.
It was the first time Murray has won a straight-sets match at a grand slam since Wimbledon five years ago, and he said: "That felt like five sets to me. It's very tricky conditions, very humid and hot. I was really happy with the way I got through that one, it was not easy."
He has not been beyond the second round at Flushing Meadows since 2016 but this was a kind draw. Cerundolo is still looking for his first main draw victory at a slam and is inexperienced on hard cards.
Later in the day, Kyle Edmund was beaten by Casper Ruud on his return to grand slam tennis but gave a decent account of himself against the fifth seed at the US Open.
Edmund had not played a singles match at any of tennis' biggest events since the US Open in 2020, after which he underwent three knee operations before finally making his return earlier this summer.
He was given a very tough draw against French Open finalist Ruud, who is a contender for the title, and came up short in a 6-3 7-5 6-2 defeat in sweltering conditions at Flushing Meadows.
But Edmund should feel encouraged that he is not too far away as he treads the long road back to what he hopes will be a return to the higher echelons of the game.
