US Open 2013: Defending champion Andy Murray advances to second round

New York: Defending US Open champion Andy Murray raced into the US Open second round with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win over veteran Frenchman Michael Llodra on Wednesday.

The third seeded Murray, who snapped Britain`s 76-year wait for a men`s Grand Slam champion when he triumphed in New York last year, needed just 98 minutes to get past the 33-year-old Llodra. The match only got underway at 9:55pm (01:55pm GMT) - the third-latest start for a US Open night session - after a four-hour rain suspension earlier in the day wreaked havoc on the schedule. But the Scot quickly made up for lost time. Wimbledon champion Murray broke Llodra in the first and seventh games of the opening set before slipping 0-3 down in the second set against a man he had defeated in all three of their previous meetings. But the 26-year-old stopped the rot to put together five games in a row on his way to securing the second set. He was a break to the good for 2-1 against serve-and-volleyer Llodra in the decider and went to match point after getting the better of a rally which started with his left-handed opponent sending over a cunning under-armed serve. Murray hit 34 winners against just five unforced errors while Llodra committed 29 unforced errors. Murray goes on to face Argentina`s Leonardo Mayer for a place in the last 32. AFP