* * *

By Simon Briggs, in New York

US Open organisers did Andy Murray no favours by handing him a 7pm start on Arthur Ashe Stadium, almost 48 hours after Rafael Nadal had zipped through his own first-round match. After several hours of drizzle had disrupted the timetables across Flushing Meadows, the hour of reckoning slipped back even further. 

Once the contest was finally underway, everything went swimmingly against Michael Llodra. Murray swept into the second round as quickly as could have been expected, winning 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 in 98 minutes. 

Yet while Murray was more than happy with his own form, he could not get his head round the scheduling. It is unusual for him to cavil about the order of play - he usually insists that such details are just part of the game - but this was an exception. 

“Playing at that time for your first round is not ideal,” said Murray, who also explained that he had only found out about the late start at 3pm the previous day. At that point, his team were forced to schedule an emergency practice under the lights, later on Tuesday evening. 

“It’s not whether it’s me, it’s anyone. Just because I won last year, it's nothing to do with that. It means there are guys who have two more days off between matches.” 

It was perhaps a good thing, in the circumstances, that Llodra is a fidgety character who rushes through his service games and keeps the points as short as possible. In fact he is almost the last of a dying breed: the serve-volleyers. 

The statistics from Wednesday’s match showed where the Frenchman’s talents lie. From the back of the court, he is little more than club standard, as demonstrated by his winning ratio of barely one point in five. Yet when he reaches the net, a kind of alchemy takes place. Llodra transforms into a gymnast, reaching the most improbable balls with a snarl of desperate effort. 

“It was a fairly high-standard match,” said Murray afterwards. “Lots of reactions and drop shots, and definitely tested my movement today. I thought I moved well. I didn't make too many errors. It was a solid match.” 

Llodra is also known as one of the more eccentric characters on the tour, and he always seems to throw in a curve ball at some point during the match. On Wednesday it came in the final game, when he tossed in an underarm serve to see if he could catch Murray unawares. 

“I don't remember that happening to me on tour,” said Murray. “And that was a really good one, as well.” It was a tribute to his speed and awareness that he was able to rush forward and intercept the ball before its second bounce, and then come out on top after a breathlessly brilliant rally that left Llodra sprawled on the ground. 

“It’s always a challenge to make Andy laugh,” Llodra said afterwards, “but every time I achieve it, it is because I am losing. Maybe I would prefer to not make him laugh, and win at least once.” 

If Llodra’s volleys were clinical yesterday, Murray’s passing shots were even more so. He came off the court with extraordinary statistics: no fewer than 32 clean winners to his name and a negligible total of just five unforced errors. In form like this, it’s no wonder he was so eager to get his tournament going.