Andy Murray has revealed that stifling the momentum of Thomaz Bellucci was key to his victory over the Brazilian in the third round of the US Open.
The 27-year-old secured an early break of the third seed in his second service game, but Murray managed to hit back and controlled proceedings on Arthur Ashe Stadium from that point.
The Scot played an array of quality groundstrokes across the court and sealed his place in the last 16 of the competition with a straight-sets victory over the 30th seed.
Murray told ESPN: "He plays well with confidence and when he's ahead. When he did get that break early I was a bit worried because he was striking the ball very well at the beginning, but I managed to get the break straight away and I felt I played very well after that.
"It was very important for me today [to win in three sets] because the last match was extremely tough physically and mentally. It was a lot cooler today, which helps, so to get the win in three sets in cooler conditions will help me get ready for the next one."
Murray will face number 15 seed Kevin Anderson on Monday.
Simon Sinclair
