Andy Murray got his US Open campaign off to a winning start by defeating Latvia's Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday, but it was far from his best tennis he displayed in a match that lasted 2 hours 17 minutes.

Constantly under pressure on his serve in the first two sets, Murray played well only in patches and he will need to find another gear if he hopes to emulate last year's thrilling run into the final.