New York:
Britain's Andy Murray breezed into the second round of the US Open on Wednesday while Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych made an early exit from the year's last Grand Slam event.
Fourth seed Murray fired eight aces and 37 winners to overwhelm Slovakia's 71st-ranked Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, in one hour and 51 minutes in the afternoon heat to book a second-round matchup against Jamaican Dustin Brown.
"I feel like I'm playing well," Murray said. "But I need to try and keep that level up if I want to win the tournament."
Czech seventh seed Berdych, whose Wimbledon run and a French Open semi-final appearance had him among the favorites, went 0-for-3 in break points in being humbled by France's 35th-ranked Michael Llodra 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4.
"I felt confident. I felt good," Berdych said. "I just didn't get a chance to play my tennis. I don't even know if I played well or not. I didn't even see what to do differently or better. There was no chance to get a rhythm."
Berdych's removal took out the highest-ranked obstacle to the semi-finals for Murray, who reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2008 US Open, losing to Roger Federer after upsetting world number one Rafael Nadal in a semi-final.The 23-year-old Scotsman won his first title of 2010 last month at Toronto, beating top-ranked Rafael Nadal in a semi-final and 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer in the final, showing he has the skill to win a Grand Slam title.
"Toronto was a big boost for me, to win against Roger and Rafa. I feel good," Murray said. "I need to keep that up. I need to play my best."