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Murray hoping to channel nerves into victories

Andy Murray admitted to some nerves as he began his grand slam bid on Wednesday © Getty Images

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Andy Murray admitted to feeling nervous during his first round victory over Somdev Devvarman at the US Open on Wednesday.

Murray started slowly but eventually got the measure of his Indian opponent, finding his rhythm to secure a straight sets victory, 7-6(5) 6-2 6-3. The Scot admitted his slow start could partly be attributed to nerves, but doesn't believe it is a bad thing to feel that way at the beginning of a major tournament.

"Try being a British player going into a grand slam. It's not easy," Murray said. "There's obviously pressure playing in these events to start with. Then when you haven't played the guy you're playing before, it's a match you're expected to win, there's obviously going to be a bit of nerves.

"But I'm happy with that. There's something wrong with you if you're going into a slam not nervous. So it was good to get it out of the way.

"I played better as the match went on. Hopefully next round will be better."

Murray will face Robin Haase in the next round, after the Dutchman defeated Rui Machado in emphatic fashion. At the start of the week the 24-year-old was vocal in his criticism of the draw at Flushing Meadows - which has seen him begin his campaign up to two days later than his biggest rivals - but backtracked slightly when asked again about the importance of such scheduling.

However, he suggested that his concerns about the recovery time he would have after each of his matches had an effect on his opening set against Devvarman.

"It doesn't make a huge difference," he conceded. "But whereas if you play Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday, if you have a really long match you've got a long time to recover.

"So I obviously wanted to get through the match as quickly as possible and maybe I was rushing a little bit at the start. I think it makes more sense to have Monday and Tuesday starts."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.