Laura Robson made serene progress to the US Open third round while Andy Murray finally got his title defence underway – and he couldn’t help but take a pop at the schedule after successfully doing so.
Rain forced delays to Wednesday’s play at Flushing Meadows and it was almost midnight when defending champion Murray completed a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 first-round triumph over Michael Llodra.
Robson meanwhile was one of the first up when play started at the US Open and also overcame a French player in Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6 to reach the women’s singles third round.
Murray will face Leonardo Mayer in round two of the men’s singles draw on Friday and is unhappy with what will now turn out to be a tight turnaround of matches compared to some of his rivals.
“Anyone that knows sport knows that playing seven matches over 13 days is harder than playing seven matches over 15 days,” said Murray.
“You obviously get less time to recover and rest, but you deal with it, do all the recovery stuff and get as much sleep as possible.
“Now I'm in a routine of playing every other day, which you do at all the other Slams.”
There were few complaints for Robson though, who now faces a rematch of last year’s US Open third round against Li Na – a contest she won 12 months ago.
"I thought I played really well and I served really well, and I'm looking forward to the next round," said Robson.
"I think she's a great player and she's had some tough matches in the past, where she should have won and nerves have got to her.
"That's kind of what I was focusing on at the end of the second set when she was serving for it – try to play aggressive and let her get a bit nervous."
© Sportsbeat 2013