2012 US Open

[Sir David Gray]

The fourth and final Grand Slam of 2012 will begin in just under an hour.

We have three out of the big four arriving in New York with Rafael Nadal once again absent from the entry list as he continues his recovery from a knee injury that his kept him out since Wimbledon two months ago now.

Also looking to make an impression will be the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Ferrer and former champion Juan Martin Del Potro.

Andy Murray is in first round action today against Alex Bogomolov Jr. and he is second on the Arthur Ashe Court, which should mean he is playing at around 6pm this evening (British time).

They've met three times before, all last year and all on hard courts and Murray leads 2-1. Bogomolov Jr. did have one major win over Murray which came at the Miami Masters when he won in straight sets.

I can't see a repeat of that scoreline today, though, even if Murray has been struggling over the past few weeks since his win at the Olympics.

Also in action on day one are Heather Watson and Laura Robson. Watson faces a tough match against China's Li Na and she is on at 4pm, whereas Robson faces a far more winnable match against American teenager Samantha Crawford. She will play at around 9pm.

Roger Federer is also beginning his quest to win a record sixth US Open title to follow up on his success at Wimbledon in July. He will play Donald Young in the second night match on Arthur Ashe Court, which should mean that he's on at around 2am tomorrow morning (British time).

[PatHead]

Not really enjoyed this Murray display. Need to up his game.

[Sir David Gray]

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Not really enjoyed this Murray display. Need to up his game.

Looking at the scoreboard, a 6-2 6-4 6-1 victory looks quite straightforward. However that doesn't begin to tell the story of this match. It was certainly a well below-par performance by Murray and it wasn't one that he looked at all happy about. His serving was atrocious, hitting five double faults in the match and in the first set, his first serve percentage was 28%. That's a statistic that you wouldn't expect to see in a local club match, never mind from the world number four in a Grand Slam match.

A win's a win but he'll have to improve dramatically if he's going to get through some of the earlier rounds, never mind at the end of next week when he'll be facing the likes of Federer and Djokovic.

He'll now play the Croatian Ivan Dodig. Again, I wouldn't expect Murray to have any problems with that match if he plays anywhere near his best but you never know after today.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Very poor serving performance, hopefully he steps up his game as the tournament advances.

[Wilson]

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Very poor serving performance, hopefully he steps up his game as the tournament advances.

Agree.

How often have we seen Federer or Djokovic have poor (relatively!) first matches before progressing on to play the game of their lives in the final. "Playing their way into the tournament" as they say.

A taste of their own medicine from Murray would do nicely.

[Sylar]

Out of interest, are Djokovic and Federer in the same bracket?

[IWasThere2016]

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Not really enjoyed this Murray display. Need to up his game.

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Very poor serving performance, hopefully he steps up his game as the tournament advances.

He was poor. First set was dreadful stuff in the opening 5/6 games.

[HibbyAndy]

He will get better the deeper he gets into the tournament, No question about it.

I feel this is Murray's best chance of winning a major on this surface, Good luck son

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Murray due to be the 5th match on Arthur Ashe court, play starts at 1600. Hopefully he won't be on until the football finishes.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Robson v Clijsters is the 3rd match on the same court.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

What a performance by Robson so far, 7-6 in set 1, 4-3 in set 2, she hits the ball so hard for a relatively small girl!

Keep going Laura!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

2 0 Robson, absolutely outstanding effort!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

I was in the pub and paid more attention to this than the classico!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Laura Robsons timing and power is amazing for someone of her age/size, a bit of finesse and a slightly better serve, she will be the best Uk female for years!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

FH, you would've been impressed i presume?

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Just been speaking to an English guy in the pub that tells me Laura is 5ft 11in, i'm astonished if thats true!

[Sir David Gray]

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Out of interest, are Djokovic and Federer in the same bracket?

Nope. Murray is due to face Federer in the semis and Djokovic is due to face David Ferrer.

Federer is the number one seed and Djokovic is number two so they aren't due to face each other until the final.

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FH, you would've been impressed i presume?

Fantastic win for Laura Robson. Kim Clijsters is such a massive champion and to beat her in straight sets is just brilliant. Even more significant is the fact that it's ended Clijsters' career as a singles player.

It's a really tough match for Robson now in round three against Li Na. She saw off Heather Watson in round one and will be an even bigger test for Robson. I will be really impressed if she can get past her in the next round.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Has Sharapova put on a bit of weight since The Olympics? She looks amazing and seems to be hitting the ball harder than a month ago!

Still room in my affections for Ana though!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

1st set to Murray 6-2, if only getting to the 3rd round of the Olympics was this easy!

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Set 2 to Murray 6-1.

A huge step up in standard from rnd 1.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Set 3 to Murray 6-3

Job done!

Bed time!

[Sir David Gray]

Good victory for Murray, he needed that after his uncertain start in the first round.

Still, two matches played, two matches won and six sets out of six as well.

Can't say fairer than that.

He now plays either Pablo Andujar or Feliciano Lopez in round three. Cannot see either of them causing him any problems, although they will both be a bit of a step up from his two previous opponents.

[Dashing Bob S]

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Good victory for Murray, he needed that after his uncertain start in the first round.

Still, two matches played, two matches won and six sets out of six as well.

Can't say fairer than that.

He now plays either Pablo Andujar or Feliciano Lopez in round three. Cannot see either of them causing him any problems, although they will both be a bit of a step up from his two previous opponents.

Felt Murray stepped it up bigtime there and choked a guy out of the game who could have been dangerous, had he been allowed to get any traction. More of the same should see him through the next round.

In the absence of Nadal, I get a feeling in my gut that only one of the existing big three left are going to make the final, and will play either some surprise packet or a next-tier pro. I obviously hope Murray is the chap to make it.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

JW Tsonga beat, thats a shock to say the least.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Andy Roddick announces that this will be his last tournament before he retires.

What an amazing competitor he has been over the years, comes across as a good lad too. I don't think he is willing to just compete at a lower level than he is used to when he knows his fitness levels are beginning to wane.

[Sir David Gray]

Andy Roddick announces his retirement following this tournament.

Never really took to him to be honest but he's certainly one that will be remembered and if it wasn't for Roger Federer, he would have won another two or three Grand Slams as well.

Not too sure why he wouldn't announce this after he's been knocked out of the tournament. I think that gives a massive boost to Bernard Tomic tomorrow night.

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

Robson takes set 1 6-4 v Li Na. Great start!

[Sir David Gray]

Robson's playing really well here. This would be another fantastic win for her, against a top 10 player and a former Grand Slam champion too.

[Sir David Gray]

Li Na levels things up by taking the second set in a tiebreak.

Robson serving at 1-2 in the decider.

[Sir David Gray]

Robson breaks to go 3-2 up!

Bit of controversy earlier in that game when the umpire ruled a point had to be replayed when a Robson shot hit the baseline and Li Na didn't have a play on the ball but fortunately it didn't have a bearing on the outcome of the game.