NEW YORK—Former U.S. Open finalist Andy Murray is familiar with late-arriving Flushing Meadows crowds. Arthur Ashe Stadium was less than half full at the start of his first-round clash today, and the fourth-seeded Scot wasn’t fully engaged until four games into the match.
Murray surrendered serve in the first game to Somdev Devvarman, fell into a 1-3 hole, overplayed his preferred drop shot at times, but overcame it all to subdue the Indian, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3 and advance to the second round.
One of only two men to beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic this year, Murray found his range midway through the second set in warding off the former NCAA champion. The 26-year-old Devvarman is quick around the court and solid in nearly all phases of the game, but lacked a single penetrating weapon to trouble Murray for prolonged periods. The 2008 U.S. Open finalist cracked a backhand return winner down the line to earn a third break point down 2-3, and when Devvarman double-faulted, Murray was back on serve.
Neither man managed a break point as the first set escalated into a tiebreaker, and when Murray steered a backhand wide, Devvarman had the mini-break and a 3-1 lead. It was short-lived, though, as he committed three consecutive errors while Murray unleashed a 126 mph ace and emphatic overhead to earn set points at 6-3. Devvarman fought off the first two, but Murray used his superb defensive skills to coax a forehand error and seize the 70-minute opening set. It seemed to sap some of the strength from the 160-pounder, who dropped serve twice in his first three service games of the second set and went down meekly by the end.
As men’s tennis has become almost exclusively a baseline game, the forehand has become one of the most important shots. Murray’s isn't as lethal as those of the Top 3, but his two-handed backhand is one of the best in the game, and other men have won majors with backhands more reliable than their forehands (Marat Safin, Gaston Gaudio and Thomas Johansson come to mind).
Still, Murray can get a bit predictable on his forehand—he nearly always plays the forehand pass cross-court, which we saw again today—and often looks more comfortable generating racquet-head speed by hitting the shot on the run rather than setting his feet and hitting through it. But the larger issue is: Does Murray have a go-to shot he can play when he needs a point, and can he amp up the aggression and drop the hammer on early-round opponents? He did it today, but it took a bit of effort.
The three-time major runner-up finished with 41 winners against 44 unforced errors and will face Robin Haase next. Haase won their lone meeting, 7-5, 6-3, at the 2008 Rotterdam event.
—Richard Pagliaro