By Mike Dickson
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Andy Murray used his favourite platform in tennis – a night session under lights at Flushing Meadows – to cruise into the US Open third round with an emphatic demolition of Croatian Ivan Dodig.
In the same Arthur Ashe Stadium that had been lit up a few hours earlier by Laura Robson in her defeat of Kim Clijsters the British number wasted no time in booking his passage with an impressively sharp performance.
He conserved energy for the bigger challenges to come by winning 6-2 6-1 6-3 in just an hour and fifty minutes, putting on more of an exhibition for the night crowd rather than allowing a full-blooded contest to develop.
Easy does it: Murray marched into the third round via a convincing win over Dodig
Murray was back to his sharpest as he set up a meeting in the last 32 most probably on Saturday against a Spaniard, either Pablo Andujar or the more established Feliciano Lopez, and he was understandably happy about the performance.
'I thought I played well,' he said. 'There were a lot of long rallies, he is a great athlete and you need to play an extra shot against him, but I moved very well myself tonight.
'I've always enjoyed playing here and had great support after winning the junior event. The atmosphere is unique compared to anywhere else we play and a lot of fun.'
Certainly this was more evidence that he has been playing the best tennis of his career since Wimbledon began back in late June.
Who's next? Murray was in commanding form as he swept hi Croatian opponent aside at Flushing Meadows
After an occasionally indifferent performance in the first round against Alex Bogomolov in difficult conditions he was keen to remind people of why he is some judges' favourite for this event in the wake of his Olympic triumph.
He duly did so against a player who has proved he can be a tricky customer by notching career wins against the likes of Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Rafael Nadal, the latter accomplishment only last year.
From the off Murray showcased a lot of the improvements Ivan Lendl has been trying to instil in him, such as stepping inside the baseline to attack the second serve and showing much more aggression with his forehand.
It helped that his opponent is someone who likes to come into the net and provide a target, and in the third game of the match the world number four broke for what would be the first of six occasions.
Fired up: Murray was watched by his partner Kim Sears
His tendency to struggle to consolidate the break surface in the next game when Dodig forced a break point of his own, but after that his progress was serene towards taking the first set in 36 minutes, twice holding his serve to love.
It was much the same story in the second, with the Croatian often left shaking his head in puzzlement as his forays to the net were punished with precision passing shots.
With the 25,000-strong night crowd reduced largely to idle chatter his only slight hiccup came when Dodig gained a couple of break points at 2-4 down in the third, but this was to be a night of few dramas.
New balls, please. Fans wait patiently for an autograph from one of their heroes
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