Bruised Murray cruises through; US OPEN TENNIS.

ANDY MURRAY came away with some bumps and bruises but with his confidence intact after opening his US Open campaign with a solid victory over the inconsistent Ernests Gulbis at Flushing Meadows.

The world No 2 won his opening round match in straight sets under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium, beating the Latvian 7-5 6-3 7-5 in 2hrs 17min.

Murray, the 2008 runner-up, had been given the prime-time spot for American television with a night match at Ashe and he went in against the Latvian, ranked 95 in the world and a straight sets, second-round victim at Wimbledon, eager to live up to his top billing.

He achieved that, although Gulbis helped the Scot's cause with an erratic performance that produced 46 winners and 51 unforced errors compared to Murray's respective totals of 33 and 21.

Murray even recovered from a heavy fall during the ninth game of the final set, escaping with "just a few bruises" but he put that to one side to pronounce himself satisfied with his night's work.

"I thought it was good," Murray said of his opening performance. "I thought it was a high standard of match.

"My concentration could have been a bit better but, for a first match, I thought it was very good because he played very well."

Murray's win sets up a second-round match with Chile's world No 87 Paul Capdeville.

Women's world No 1 Dinara Safina had to come from a set down against Olivia Rogowska in Arthur Ashe Stadium to carve out a 6-7 (5/7) 6-2 6-4 victory against the unseeded Australian.

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva raced into the second round with a 50-minute 6-1 6-2 victory over France's Camille Pin.