Murray Banks Another Straight-Set Win, S. Williams Ties Record

By ESPN

With torrential rain wiping out play on all other courts at Flushing Meadows Thursday afternoon, Andy Murray banked another straight-sets win under the new roof at Arthur Ashe.

Novak Djokovic, his main rival for the US Open title, had benefited from a walkover Wednesday, and Murray looked to get his business done quickly against a tricky opponent in Marcel Granollers.

The world No. 2 was seemingly racing toward the third round when he went 5-2 up in the first set. But a 10-minute long service game and three missed set points later, Murray was broken by the Spaniard.

The next game went even longer and Murray eventually took his seventh set point after 67 minutes. From there, the 2012 champion raced through the second set and closed out a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 win in two hours, 23 minutes.

"It was tough -- had it gone to five-all then the first set becomes a really tough one and all the pressure is on me having led 5-2 and had bunch of set points," Murray told ESPN tennis analyst Brad Gilbert on court.

American qualifier Jared Donaldson had never won a Grand Slam match before arriving in New York -- now he is into the third round here.

The 19-year-old, currently ranked No. 122, beat Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to follow up on his shock four-set win over David Goffin in the first round.

A loser in the first round at Flushing Meadows the past two years, Johnson said: "I'm still 120 in the world. I want to be top 10, top 5, No. 1."

Juan Martin del Potro, the 2009 champion ranked 142nd after three left wrist surgeries, reached the third round here for the first time since 2012 with a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-2 win over 19th-seeded American Steve Johnson.

Kei Nishikori seized the momentum after a rain delay that lasted more than two hours to beat 20-year-old qualifier Karen Khachanov 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday. When rain halted action, the players had split the first two sets and were tied at 4-4 in the third.

Britain's Daniel Evans saw off Germany's Alexander Zverev in four sets to reach the third round of the US Open.

Serena Williams Ties Record

Serena Williams tied Martina Navratilova's professional-era women's record with her 306th career victory in a Grand Slam match, beating Vania King 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday night to reach the US Open's third round.

Hitting 13 aces Thursday night, Williams improved to 306-42 in matches at major tournaments, a winning percentage of .879.

Because of Thursday's wet weather, action around the grounds was limited until the early evening, but matches kept coming under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"It was definitely a little different playing with Ashe closed," said Williams, who was clearly displeased with winning only 13 of 40 points on King's first serves. "But it still feels great."

Only Roger Federer, with 307, has won more Grand Slam matches than Williams in the Open era, which dates to 1968.

Williams can match Federer's total by beating 47th-ranked Johanna Larsson of Sweden on Saturday.