US Open: Unseeded Murray advances; Wolf beats Bautista Agut in first upset

Starting as an unseeded contender, British multiple-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray advanced to the second round at the US Open, beating No. 24-seed Francisco Cerundolo in a first clash

Starting as an unseeded contender, British multiple-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray advanced to the second round at the US Open on Monday, beating No. 24-seed Francisco Cerundolo in a first clash at the Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The 2012 US Open and three-time Grand Slam champion advanced past his 24-year-old adversary on a warm, muggy afternoon, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, booking his spot in the second round for the 15th time in New York.

There was another upset in the opening skirmishes at the Flushing Meadows as American J.J. Wolf stunned No. 16 seed Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.

Leading off on Court 5, No. 87 Wolf showed Spain's No. 16 seed Roberto Bautista Agut a quick exit at the year's last Grand Slam with a convincing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 triumph.

It was ten years ago that Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry to win a Grand Slam title in 76 years. On Monday, Murray admitted on the court that some of the details of his triumph might now be a bit fuzzy.

"It seems like a long time ago, a lot has happened since then in my career," Murray said. "Amazing memories, it was a huge moment for me, getting my first Grand Slam here against Novak, but it feels like a really, really long time ago".

Murray's notoriously world-beating return game guided him through a scratchy first set, even after he dropped his opening service game. The 36-year-old legend would quickly rebound, securing his first two breaks of serve to take a 4-1 lead. Though he squandered the lead, allowing Cerundolo to crawl back even at 5-all, Murray was able to break in the 12th game to lock down the set, 7-5.

Murray rode his return in the second set as well, staking himself to a 5-0 lead on the strength of two more breaks, as Cerundolo lost the plot in the midday sun.Wolf, the 23-year-old former Ohio State collegiate standout and one of eight wild card entrants, kept his poise and, with a handful of shirt changes, his cool to dispatch the veteran Spaniard in a tidy 2 hours and 13 minutes for the biggest win of his career.

"I just tried to not let my foot off the gas," Wolf was quoted as saying on the official website.

Wolf rode a big serve-14 aces and just four break points-and solid baseline play featuring 46 winners to reverse a three-set loss to Bautista Agut in their only previous meeting earlier this year at Indian Wells.

--IANS

bsk