Murray Captures 200th Major Win, Faces Dimitrov Next

Former US Open champion Andy Murray earned his 200th major win on Tuesday, when he overcame Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the second round in New York.

The Scot coped with Moutet’s flamboyant shotmaking throughout the two-hour, 58-minute clash, combating the Frenchman’s touch with consistent depth to advance to the second round for the 16th time. The 36-year-old also moved forward frequently, winning 69 per cent (48/70) of net points.

“It was amazing. A brilliant atmosphere against one of the most skilful players on Tour,” Murray said. “He has so many ways to disrupt you, he is an exceptional player and he moves extremely well and always causes a bit of chaos. I hope it was entertaining for everyone. There were some fun points in there. I am happy to get through in straight sets because the second set was very tight.”

Murray, who defeated Novak Djokovic to triumph at the hard-court Slam in 2012, is just the ninth man in history to earn 200 match wins at the majors. He will aim to make it 201 when he faces Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian saved three match points to edge Alex Molcan 6-7(9), 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(11-9) in four hours and 40 minutes.

All-time Grand Slam Men’s Singles Win Leaders

Murray has lifted the trophy at Wimbledon twice (2013, ’16) and he is a five-time finalist at the Australian Open (2010, ’11, ’13, ’15, ’16). He also advanced to the championship match at Roland Garros in 2016.

The 36-year-old saved two set points in the second set against Moutet, rallying from 3-5 to gain further control. He then earned the decisive break of the third set in the eighth game, converting on his 10th opportunity of the set. Murray then held serve, advancing on his fourth match point.

“The preparation was slightly tricky because I had to pull out of the tournament mid-way through in Canada and miss Cincinnati,” said Murray, who suffered an ab strain in Toronto. “I had to slowly build my serving up but I was quite happy with how I served today, the ab felt good.”

Murray will next face Dimitrov, who rallied from two sets down against Molcan to reach the second round in New York for the fourth consecutive year. The 32-year-old, who trails Murray 3-8 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, struck 81 winners against Slovakian Molcan.

Briton Cameron Norrie also reached the second round, defeating Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 32 minutes.

“I was pretty nervous going into the tournament,” said Norrie, who suffered opening-round exits in his past three events. “I have had a couple of tough loses recently, so the confidence was not where I wanted it to be. Coming in I would usually have had a lot of matches under my belt and I wanted to start well. I had a really positive week in practice. My team has been really good in these tough times, so it is nice to get a comfortable win.”

The 16th seed is making his seventh appearance in New York, where he enjoyed a run to the fourth round last year. Lefty Norrie is currently 15th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (1,815 points) and will need a deep run at the hard-court major to boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals.

The 28-year-old, who has won three tour-level titles on hard courts, will next play Yu Hsiou Hsu.

Jack Draper reached the third round at the US Open on debut last year and made a fast start again this week, overcoming Radu Albot 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

The 21-year-old saved all three break points he faced to seal his win after two hours and five minutes. Briton Draper will meet Marc-Andrea Huesler or Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.

Daniel Evans rounded out a good day for the Brits when he won 21 of 29 net approaches in a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 win over Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan, who last year knocked out Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round. Evans next faces a first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.