Andy Murray and Serena Williams continued their untroubled path in the US Open, winning their respective second round matches with relative ease.
After an impressive first round win over Lukas Rosol, Murray, the favourite for the title in New York this year, saw off the challenge of Spain's Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-1, 6-4, despite struggling considerably to control his serves under the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof, as the rain came down and increased the noise levels considerably.
"I don't think it was too different to the other night when I played, but when the rain came it was certainly loud," Murray told reporters after the match. "I mean, you can't hear anything, really.
"I mean, you could hear the line calls, but not so much when the opponents – when he was hitting the ball or even when you're hitting the ball, really, which is tough purely because we're not used to it. That's what makes it challenging.
"Because we use our ears when we play. It's not just the eyes. It helps us pick up the speed of the ball, the spin that's on the ball, how hard someone's hitting it. If we played with our ears covered or with headphones on, it would be a big advantage if your opponent wasn't wearing them.
"It's tricky. You can still do it, but it's harder, for sure."
Serena was expected to be given a stiff challenge in her first round match against Ekaterina Makarova, but after coming away from that with flying colours and that big serve of hers working again, the No.1 seed proved to be too strong for fellow American Vania King. The 22-time Grand Slam winner came through 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and five minutes.
Venus Williams, Serena's sister, after a difficult first round match, when she was pushed to three sets by Kateryna Kozlova, dispatched Julia Georges in round two 6-2, 6-3. Seeded No.6, Venus looks like going deep at the US Open this year and it will be interesting to see how much her tennis improves as the tournament wears on.
"Definitely (this match) was a lot more measured than my first round," Venus said. "I just felt like I had to dial it back a little bit, maybe play a little bit more percentage tennis, play within myself, keep my errors down.
"Very happy that it worked out against an opponent who is seasoned, who can play, who can serve, who has a lot of big shots. So it was a nice test to come through."
Also through is the sixth seed in the men's singles – Kei Nishikori. Expected to be there or thereabouts in challenging for the title at Flushing Meadows, Nishikori had to overcome a determined second round opponent in Karen Khachanov, eventually prevailing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The No.3 seed Stan Wawrinka came through a difficult second round match, beating Alessandro Giannessi 6-1, 7-6, 7-5.
There was a win for the bad boy of tennis Nick Kyrgios as well, while Juan Martin Del Potro continued his resurgence with a comfortable 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-2 win over No.19 seed Steve Johnson.
