US Open: Andy Murray cruises past Michael Llodra

Defending US Open champion Andy Murray reached the second round of the tournament as he defeated France's Michael Llodra in Wednesday's night session. Murray cruised to a 6-2 6-4 6-3 victory in a match that ended just 27 minutes before midnight in New York. Murray will face Argentina's Leonardo Mayer in the second round on Friday. Murray revealed after the match that he had been asked whether he wanted to play on Tuesday or Wednesday, and chose Tuesday. "Then we were put on Wednesday," he added. "Again, that was fine, but it changed from Wednesday afternoon to Wednesday at night, and I don't know if that's ever happened here before, that a first-round match has been played at 10 o'clock on the third day. We were a bit surprised. I just wanted to get on and play the match. I've been here for 12 days practising and I just wanted to get on the court and play." The awkward scheduling didn't seem to affect Murray though as he looked sharp from the very start of the match against Llodra. He grabbed a 2-0 lead early on, then went on to break once again and wrapped up the first set in just 26 minutes. The world number three was sharp from the outset against Llodra, producing a terrific backhand smash in a quick-fire rally at the net on his way to a 2-0 lead and breaking once again as he took the opening set in 26 minutes. Llodra, a Grand Slam champion in doubles, is a dangerous opponent on fast surfaces and he proved that in the second set as he took a 3-0 lead. But Murray broke back instantly and then won five games back to back to seal the set. With just one unforced error in the first two sets, Murray went into the third with full confidence and got his fifth break of the night before too long. "It was a good start, I played well today," Murray said. "He's a very tricky opponent to play against, he's unpredictable. He's a fun guy to watch but he can be a bit of a nightmare to play against, so it's good that I got off to a good start, especially after waiting around all day." Here are the current US Open outright tournament winner odds at Bet365: Rafael Nadal - 7/4 Novak Djokovic - 15/8 Andy Murray - 7/2 Juan Martin Del Potro - 11/1 Roger Federer - 11/1