Britain's Andy Murray opened his US Open campaign with a straight-sets victory over Somdev Devvarman of India.
Murray, the number four seed, was made to work hard in the early stages but came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 6-3.
The 24-year-old Scot was broken in his opening service game but recovered to take the first set on a tie-break.
And with his forehand a particularly effective weapon, Murray dominated the latter stages to set up a meeting with Dutchman Robin Haase in round two.
After waiting until day three to begin his campaign, Murray found Devvarman a stiff test on a hot afternoon in New York.
Murray made a nervous start, dropping serve immediately, and even after getting back on level terms at 3-3 he struggled to break free of the world number 64.
It came down to a tie-break and Devvarman had his chance at 3-1, but a double-fault brought Murray level and the Briton went on to convert his third set point.
The first set had lasted 70 minutes and when Devvarman recovered an early break of serve in the second, a gruelling encounter beckoned, but the Murray forehand began to dictate and he broke twice more to take the set.
A double-break took Murray 4-0 clear in the third set and he would need that cushion after dropping serve at 5-3 with a loose game, eventually converting his second match point after two hours and 27 minutes.
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