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| Andy Murray of Britain celebrates after winning the first round match of men's singles against Somdev Devvarman of India at US Open Tennis Championships in New York, Aug. 31, 2011. Murray won 3-0. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) |
NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- World No. 4 Andy Murray embarked on his campaign to claim maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadow on Wednesday as the Scot demolished Indian Somdev Devvarman in straight sets.
But it took him much longer than the former champion Juan Martin del Potro, who reached the second round with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Italian Filippo Volandri in 1 hour 28 minutes.
Murray had to shrug off a slow start before he went off the Indian after 2 hours and 27 minutes with a 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3 victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Murray hit eight aces among his 41 winners and committed 44 unforced errors, but broke Devvarman's serve seven times.
Del Potro, who won the Open in 2009 but is seeded 18th this year, hit 18 aces among 38 winners and broke Volandri seven times without losing his own.
Sixth-seeded Robin Soderling, two-time French Open runner-up, withdrew from the tournament for wrist injury and virus infection.
Murray's next opponent will be Dutchman Robin Haase, while Del Potro meets fellow Argentine Diego Junqueira.
Murray will hope that his second-round match more straightforward.
"He's a tough player," the Scot said of Haase. "He nearly beat Rafa (Nadal) a few years ago at Wimbledon. Got to be ready for that one. He's talented, has quite a big game. He'll start off very fast, very flashy. He likes playing on the big courts. He also played a close match with (Andy) Roddick at the Australian Open, had him struggling a bit. He'll definitely come out swinging, so I need to try and weather that, play a solid match."
In other actions, 10th-seeded Spaniard Nicolas Almagro was eliminated by Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-2, 6-4, 6-3; 25th-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez defeated Japan's Tatsuma Ito 6-2, 6-4, 6-4; and 12th-seeded Gilles Simon of France bt Ricardo Mello from Brazil 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Other winners in men's draw were Canadian Vasek Pospisil, Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin, and Brazilian lucky-loser Rogerio Dutra Da Silva, who replaced Soderling in the draw when the 27-year-old Swede fell ill and pulled out.
Soderling's agent, Nina Wennerstrom, said: "He is feeling really bad. His stomach was hurting. He experienced head pain and the doctor recommended to him not to play.
"He started feeling ill last night and still was hoping to play, but he was feeling too bad to play a five-set match in a grand slam tournament. He will try to get back home as soon as possible."
The 27-year-old said on Twitter: "I am sorry but I just couldn't play today. I had no energy, had stomachache, headache and talking to the doctor we decided that I just couldn't play. I really hope to recover quickly."
