US Open 2015: Murray delights but Ward wobbles

Andy Murray produced a stunning show of confidence and concentration to eventually defeat Nick Kyrgios in four sets under the floodlights of Flushing Meadows. He was one of a number of seeds to secure their safe passage into round two, with Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and John Isner comfortably seeing off lesser opposition. But Britain's James Ward produced a poor performance against Thomasz Bellucci to fall to defeat.

Murray magic too good for bad boy

The lively Nick Kyrgios has had an interesting summer. Warnings at Wimbledon, a string of poor performances and the now infamous Wawrinka scandal has turned the talented Aussie from an enigmatic entertainer to enemy number one.

Many were eagerly anticipating his round one match up with an in-form Andy Murray, with the draw pitting the world number three against the number thirty seven wetting the appetite of the tennis world. There was also the added element of a potential clash between Kyrgios and Murray with many interested in how the Scot may react to some foul mouthed antics from the Aussie.

But those who were watching for on court drama would be sadly disappointed as it was only the tennis, played out in a frantic manner between the two magicians, which would draw gasps. In four sets, Andy Murray called upon all of his experience to turn the power of Kyrgios against himself and eventually the Aussie struggled to cope with the pressure from the Scot.

After the match, Murray praised the unpredictability of his opponent, whilst at the same time commenting, 'it was a very tricky match and I just fought hard, mixed it up and managed to get through.' He told reporters after the match. 'The beginning of the fourth set was important because I finished it extremely well, and I managed to get the momentum back.'

It was true, when after losing the third set, Murray looked on the ropes as Kyrgios' trademark approach had the Brit rattled. But Murray's experience told in the end as he sealed a 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-1 win. For Kyrgios, it represents another missed opportunity against one of the big boys of tennis, with the self-loving Aussie failing to back up his words against the tennis elite.

Murray will now face another talented outsider, as he squares off against Adrian Mannarino in the next step in his difficult journey to glory.

Fed Express arrives early

Roger Federer may no longer be the first name on everybody's potential grand slam champions, but the Swiss made sure he would be the quickest of the big names on day two to win through as he easily dispatched Leonardo Mayer in barely an hour and a half.

Federer, who is due to face Murray or Wawrinka in the semi-finals of the US Open as he seeks to build upon a super summer season, looked in imperious form as he dispatched the world number 34.

'Looking ahead, it definitely looked like a very tough draw in the first round.' Commented Federer, who had faced five match points when the two met less than a year ago in China, but he faced no such trouble this time around in his 6-1 6-2 6-2 win.

And he wasn't the only one of the big guns who eased through to round two in pulsating time, as Stan Wawrinka began his assault towards the US Open title. The French Open champion is looking to add to his two current grand slam titles and despite somw difficulty, came through his match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas reasonably unscathed in his straight sets win.

Seeded success but Brit failure

And it wasn't just the top seeds making lightwork of their opposition, with John Isner, Tomas Berdych and Kevin Anderson all coming out of their matches with very little in the way of scaring. Isner, defeated Malek Jaziri in straight sets to please the home crowd, but there was less to cheer for Bjorn Fratangelo as the American was brushed aside by Tomas Berdych, whilst big serving Anderson overcame talented youngster Andrey Rublev in four sets.

However, despite Alijaz Bedene winning through on a retirement, there was disappointment for James Ward of the UK, who lost in straight sets to Thomasz Bellucci.