Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime proved too strong for former champion Andy Murray, cutting short the Briton's Grand Slam comeback at the U.S. Open with a breezy 6-2 6-3 6-4 victory in the second round on Friday (NZ time).
Before the start of the match, the 20-year-old Auger-Aliassime had said he would look to be aggressive against his three-time Grand Slam winning opponent.
The Canadian lived up to his promise and went on the offensive from the start, dominating rallies from the baseline and making the 2012 U.S. Open champion, who has twice had hip surgery, move all around the Arthur Ashe Stadium court.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 15th, has had problems with his serve and unforced errors in the past but it was almost a near-perfect outing in his debut appearance on the centre court, which had its roof closed due to rain.
He did not face a single breakpoint on his serve, hit 24 aces and an incredible 52 winners compared to the nine managed by the Scot, who was playing his first Grand Slam since the 2019 Australian Open.
"It's an amazing feeling," Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview.
"I wish the fans were here but ... it's funny, life is funny because I came here in 2011, I got tickets for a match and I watched Andy Murray and Feliciano Lopez playing third round here
"So it's crazy that nine years later I'm here playing him and getting a win."
Earlier, second seed Dominic Thiem celebrated his 27th birthday with a commanding 6-3 6-3 6-2 victory over India's Sumit Nagal to move into the third round.
Austrian Thiem, seeking his maiden Grand Slam title, won an overwhelming 74 percent of his first serve points and fired seven aces past the inexperienced Nagal, breaking him seven times in the two-hour contest.
Thiem, who was runner-up at the Australian Open, has only played five sets at the tournament after first-round opponent Jaume Munar retired.
"It's difficult to say where I stand because I recently played a lot of exhibition matches," says Thiem.
"Hopefully, I can get back to the level before we stopped due to the [COVID-19] crisis."
Nagal became the first Indian in seven years to win a singles match at Flushing Meadows on but the 23-year-old showed only flashes of brilliance in a one-sided clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Up next for Thiem is 2014 champion Marin Cilic of Croatia who beat Slovakia's Norbert Gombos 6-3 1-6 7-6(2) 7-5.
Meanwhile, eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut got through a difficult second-round match against Serbian youngster Miomir Kecmanovic with a 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory
The Spaniard squandered 14 breakpoint opportunities but held his nerve in crucial moments to seal victory in just over 2h 30m.
He will next face the winner of the all-Canadian clash between Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.
Reuters
