Andy Murray Advances In Straight Sets At US Open
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Wimbledon champ Andy Murray advanced to the third round at the US Open on Thursday with another straight-set victory.
The second-seeded Murray beat Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium with play suspended on the outer courts. The heavy rain outside made quite a clatter on the new roof, and Murray said in his on-court interview that it was tough at first because it was hard to hear the ball.
Murray jumped to a quick 5-2 lead in the first set, then it took about 23 minutes to get through the last two games as Granollers saved six set points and got back on serve. But Murray earned another break to finally clinch the set after 67 minutes, then cruised through the final two in 75 minutes combined.
Earlier Thursday, fifth-seeded Simona Halep beat 2015 French Open runner-up Lucie Safarova in straight sets.
Halep won 6-3, 6-4, also under the stadium roof. On a rainy morning, the new $150 million retractable roof was closed at the start of a match for the first time after it made its debut in the middle of Rafael Nadal's win Wednesday night.
Halep said she liked the calm conditions of playing indoors but she was "a little bit cold." She added later that it was nice to not need to wait out a rain delay.
Matches on the outer courts started an hour after morning showers. Players were on court for just over two hours before the skies opened up again.
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