Murray through to second round of 2012 US Open

3rd seed Andy Murray began his U.S. Open campaign today against Alex Bogomolov Jr. of Russia. Following his gold medal win against Roger Federer in the Olympics, Murray’s debut match was the most anticipated of the day. Looking to parlay his Olympic success into a grand slam trophy, the Scot is carrying a lot of pressure on his shoulders, especially considering that fact that Nadal’s withdrawal from the tournament has opened up the draw. Murray probably did not have the performance he was looking for, but played well enough to keep his opponent on his toes. The first set witnessed 6 breaks of serve, with the 3rd seed converting 4 to his opponent’s 2. Hitting just 29% of his first serves, the Scot sprayed 13 unforced errors around the court, but managed to win the first set 6-2. The second and third sets saw more of the same, with both players having trouble finding their game. Murray improved his first serve percentage and firmed up his rallying to take the match at 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

Despite the scoreline, Murray will need to improve his match play as the tournament progresses in order to compete for the title. By the end of today’s match, the 25 year old’s first serve percentage hovered at 49% to go along with 35 unforced errors. He will play Ivan Dodig in the 2nd round of the tournament. Dodig handily defeated his first round component Hiroki Moriya in straight sets.