Murray eases past Lopez to reach fourth round at US Open

World No. 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain earned a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory over World No. 26 Feliciano Lopez of Spain and secured his berth in the fourth-round of the 2011 US Open.

Fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain outplayed World No. 26 Feliciano Lopez of Spain in all departments of the game and earned an easy 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory over him to secure his berth in the pre-quarterfinal of the 2011 US Open, this year’s last Grand Slam, being played here at Flushing Meadows. With this win, Murray earned his sixth straight victory over Lopez.

Murray took only 2 hours and 4 minutes to win this match. Lopez lost the first set on a tame note, but tried to make a comeback afterwards. But, just when it looked that he will pose some sort of challenge, the Spaniard committed too many unforced errors and lost the match in straight sets. Lopez committed 9 double-faults and 44 unforced errors. On the other hand, Murray hammered 25 winners and converted 5 out of 13 break points. Lopez had two break points, but he failed to convert a single one.

Murray took only 26 minutes to win the first set. The Scot committed 2 unforced errors as compared to Lopez’s 15. Murray converted 2 out of 4 break points, while Lopez did not have any break points in the first set. Lopez also committed 3 double-faults to inflict damage on him. Murray earned 100% points on his first serve – in the first set.

Lopez offered some resistance in the second-set, but finally lost it. Both the contenders hold on to their serves before Lopez got broken in the ninth game and Murray ran away with the second-set. Murray took 57 minutes to win the second-set. Well, Lopez played well early on in the second-set and he had his opportunities, but the Spaniard just could not cash-in there and lost the second-set after playing a terrible ninth service game of the second-set. Murray fired 9 winners, while Lopez committed 16 unforced errors. Murray earned 63% points on first serve and converted 1 out of 5 break points – in the second-set. Lopez had two break points but he failed to convert a single one. Murray won the third set in 31 minutes, as he broke the Spaniard twice and earned an easy victory – in the end.

In the fourth-round, Murray will take on Donald Young of USA who defeated Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in straight sets with a 7-5 6-4 6-3 scoreline. In another exciting third-round match, World No. 28 John Isner of USA rallied past his compatriot Alex Bogomolov Jr. in straight sets with a 7-6 6-4 6-4 scoreline. In the next round, John Isner will take on World No. 12 Gilles Simon of France who rallied past 2009 US Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro with a 4-6 7-6 6-2 7-6 scoreline.