The rain came on Thursday at the Open as much of the play was confined under the roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The weather made for a scrambled schedule on the grounds once the skies cleared.

Murray Strides into Third Round

2nd seeded Andy Murray overcame a subpar serving day and cruised past Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. Despite his serving woes, Murray more than made up for it with his superior court coverage and consistency from the baseline. He struck 34 winners on the day.

The Spaniard struggled with his serve as well, and Murray took full advantage breaking serve five times in the match.

“I hit quite a lot of winners, although the first-serve percentage wasn't great,” Murray said. “I won a lot of points behind my first serve. I would have liked to make a few more first serves but it is a little bit different serving under the roof, a little heavier conditions.”

Halep Continues to Roll

Simona Halep came into her second round match off of a strong opening round performance. The 5-seed continued her high level of play against a difficult opponent in Lucie Safarova, advancing 6-3, 6-4.

The steady Romanian forced her opponent into 44 unforced errors and Safarova could only offset them with 16 winners.

Playing with the roof closed, Halep was quick to adjust, “It was a little bit of an adjustment,” she said. “But I had the chance to warm up in the morning before the match. I don't want to say anything bad because it wasn't bad. Had a nice feeling. It was a great experience to be there. I didn't have to wait for the rain, so that's a good thing.”

Halep will meet Timea Babos in the next round.

Serena Rolls On

It was a very routine match for top-seed Serena Williams under the lights of Ashe Stadium. She easily advanced to the third round behind a 6-3, 6-3 win over American Vania King.

Williams’ aggressive style controlled the pace throughout and never allowed King to gain traction. She broke serve three times and her opponent never got a look at a break opportunity.

“Well, every match, at least for me, I like to do the best I can,” Williams said. “So, hopefully, I'll be able to play better as time goes on.”

Williams struck 38 winners to just 4 from King, who was on the defensive for most of the night.

Steady Del Potro Moves On

It was a battle of big forehands in the last match of the night at Arthur Ashe Stadium. But unseeded, and obviously dangerous Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Steve Johnson, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. The 2009 US Open champion has continued the momentum he built during a finals run at the Rio Olympics.

In the first set, very little separated the two players as both were strong on their service games and the set moved to a tiebreak. There, Del Potro gained a slight advantage which was all he needed to win.

In the second set, the American jumped out to a quick start and appeared to have changed the momentum. But he hit a stretch where a number of unforced errors crept in and the Argentine seized his opportunities. Once Del Potro gained the momentum, he took full control of the set behind his serve and powerful forehand.

In the third set, the veteran consistently controlled play behind his consistent, deep forehands that pushed Johnson back. He put a stranglehold on the set and the match with a couple of service breaks and did not look back.

A humble Del Potro thanked the crowd afterward, “Thank you for inviting me, and giving me the wild card!” he said.