NEW YORK: Former world number one Andy Murray survived an early scare to beat American wildcard Emilio Nava 5-7 6-3 6-1 6-0 at Wednesday’s US Open , only to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam for the second time in five years.
Nava is ranked at No. 203 in the world but the 20-year-old, who defeated John Millman in the first round, showed his confidence in shooting meant he belonged further up the ladder, winning the big points to win a grueling opener 84 minutes.
Struggling on his first serve but always ready to score in Grand Slams, Murray broke the inexperienced Nava twice in the second set to level the match after the American made several unforced errors.
That propelled Murray as he suddenly found his reach on serve and broke through the third set as Nava couldn’t maintain his level from the first set and started to fade, giving the determined Scot the advantage.
With Nava on the ropes, Murray was reckless with two early breaks to take a 4-0 lead. Nava almost got on the board in game five but Murray, 35, held on to break again before serving the set.
“Physically, this is the best I’ve felt in years… I’m getting closer to where I want to be. Hopefully I can get a deep run here,” Murray said.
Murray next faces either 13th seed Matteo Berrettini or Hugo Grenier.