Murray advances at US Open

Andrew Murray survived a couple of hiccups in his first grand slam match as a seeded player to book his place in the US Open …

Andrew Murray survived a couple of hiccups in his first grand slam match as a seeded player to book his place in the US Open second round.

The British number one was pegged back by American qualifier Robert Kendrick after easing through the first set but stepped up a level to record a 6-2 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

Seeded 17 after climbing into the world's top 20, Murray broke his opponent in the opening game and added another to clinch the first set in straightforward fashion.

Having whitewashed the same opponent as recently as July, another easy win looked on the cards going into the second set.

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But all of a sudden the wheels fell off and Kendrick broke three times for a 5-0 lead, which he converted to level.

The Murray malaise continued at the start of the third, Kendrick breaking his opening service game, but the Scot broke back for 2-2 and again at 4-3 to regain control of proceedings.

At 5-0 to Murray in the fourth, the match looked over but Kendrick rallied again to close to 5-3 before Murray broke him once more to seal a hard-fought victory.