Flushing Meadows, NY – Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray was an easy first-round winner at the 2012 U.S. Open, where rain interrupted play for more than two hours on Day 1.
The third-seeded Murray struggled a bit early before cruising to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory over 73rd-ranked Russian Alex Bogomolov Jr. amid breezy conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The British star Murray beat Swiss icon Roger Federer in the gold-medal match at the London Olympic Games earlier this month and lost to Federer in the Wimbledon final last month.
Murray, who was the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up to the great Federer, will face Croat Ivan Dodig in the round of 64. Dodig whipped Japan's Hiroki Moriya 6-0, 6-1, 6-2.
Meanwhile, 17th-seeded Japanese Kei Nishikori whipped Argentine Guido Andreozzi 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, promising 19-year-old American Jack Sock took out ailing 22nd-seeded German Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-2, 3-2, as Mayer retired, succumbing to dizziness on Monday, and 24th-seeded Spaniard Marcel Granollers defeated American Denis Kudla 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
American veteran James Blake, a two-time quarterfinalist here, improved to 24-11 lifetime at the U.S. Open with a 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Slovak Lukas Lacko on the hardcourts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
An all-American affair saw Tim Smyczek outlast Bobby Reynolds 1-6, 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in last year's U.S. Open final. The Serbian slugger Djokovic is seeded second at this 2012 fortnight, while the Spanish great Nadal will miss the final major of the year because of knee problems.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.