By
Joe Kay
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John Sommers II | REUTERS
Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska won in straight sets.
MASON, Ohio — Andy Murray ran down every shot in the afternoon heat, his troublesome left knee
holding up fine.
Murray, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer won their opening matches in straight sets yesterday at
the Western Southern Open, getting accustomed to the heat after spending the last two weeks
in London and Canada.
For Murray, it was a chance to gauge how his left knee was doing. He won an Olympic gold medal
by beating Federer on the grass at Wimbledon, then dropped out of the Rogers Cup in Toronto last
week because his knee got sore in the transition to hard courts.
No problem for the defending Cincinnati champion. He beat Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4, facing just two
break points all match.
“It felt fine,” Murray said. “I moved well today. It still was giving me a little bit of trouble
in practice for a couple of days before the tournament, but it felt fine, much better on the court
today. I moved well, so I’m hoping it won’t be a problem.”
Djokovic got the bronze medal at the Olympics in London, then won the Rogers Cup on Sunday
night. He was a little off in his opening set on a court baked in sunshine and 86-degree heat,
before pulling away from Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-6 (4), 6-2.
“Sometimes it’s really hard to try to stay fit for every single tournament and try to perform
your best,” Djokovic said. “I mean, in the last three, four weeks, I have changed three different
cities, places, surfaces, conditions. I’m still trying to figure out where I am.”
Federer had no trouble in his evening match against Russia’s Alex Bogomolov, winning 6-3, 6-2.
He served 12 aces and didn’t face a break point until the final game of the match.
Federer skipped the Rogers Cup, so it was his first match back on a hard court.
“I served really well,” Federer said.
On the women’s side, top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced to the third round with a
6-4, 6-3 victory over Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden. Venus Williams moved on with her second three-set
victory in two days.
Williams won the gold medal in doubles with her sister in London and arrived for the tournament
upbeat. She needed three sets and 2 hours, 23 minutes to win her opening match on Tuesday, then
followed it with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Chanelle Scheepers in the afternoon heat
that lasted 1 hour and 46 minutes.
“It was a tough match today,” she said. “I wasn’t necessarily at my best, but I won anyway.”
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