2011 French Open: Andy Murray cruises past Eric Prodon into the second round
World number 4 Andy Murray of Great Britain started his campaign in style as he crushed local Eric Prodon, ranked 124th in the world, in straight sets in the first round of French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Tuesday. The Brit dropped just eight games in a one-sided match, winning it 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in only an hour and 44 minutes.
Murray took the early lead as he broke his opponent in the fourth game of the opening set and consolidated on the break of serve, racing to a 4-1 lead. Serving for the set at 5-3, the Brit failed to hold his serve but he broke again immediately in the next game to win the set 6-4.
The right-handed fired five aces and 53 percent of the first deliveries in the opening set, bagging a whopping 88 percent of the points on them. In comparison, Prodon had a higher first serve percentage as he hit 65 percent of the first serves but the French lagged behind in the conversion rate, converting just 60 percent of the first serves into points. The five feet and ten inches tall converted one of the three break points he received but failed to save both break points on his own serve in the first set.
Murray thrashed Prodon in the second set as he allowed the French to claim just a single game, breaking him twice and winning the set 6-1. The Brit improved his serve as he kept his first serve percentage at 76 percent and did not lose even a single point on the first serve, amazingly converting 100 percent of them into points.
Prodon showed some resistance at the start of the third set, breaking Murray in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. However, the Brit broke back immediately and held his serve in the sixth game to square off the score at 3-3. The 24-year-old kept dominating and grabbed three successive games to win the set 6-3. The six feet and three inches tall hit twelve winners and four aces in the third set.
Murray will take on Italian Simone Bolelli, ranked 126th in the world, in the second round.
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